This piece was written during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labour of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn't exist.
Released with little attention in 1987, Withnail and I has spent over 35 years cultivating a devoted audience, growing from a minor footnote of British cinema to an audience favourite, oft-quoted by adoring fans.
Writer Toby Benjamin has curated a collection of insights, essays, memorabilia, and interviews with the film's main creatives, bringing together writer/director Bruce Robinson, actors Richard E. Grant, Paul McGann and Ralph Brown, plus key crew including Cinematographer, Composers, Production Manager, Hair and Makeup. His resulting book, Withnail and I: from Cult to Classic was launched this week with a screening of the film at London's Prince Charles Cinema, complete with Q&A from Robinson, moderated by book contributor and Fast Show creator Charlie Higson. FILMHOUNDS caught up with Toby after the screening.
Withnail and I often seems to be a formative film for its fans. Do you remember the first time you saw it?
I first watched it in '95 or '96. We cleared a big wall and set up a digital projector. Everyone I'd spoken to for years had been like, “You haven't seen Withnail? Oh, you're in for a f*****g treat!” So, we hooked the projector up and enjoyed it as it should be watched – projected large. And it was instantly my favourite film, and it has been ever since.
Is it one that you return to often?
I actually try not to because I don't want to kill it. Like when you overplay an album, and still love it, but don't really play it much anymore. I was wary of doing that to Withnail. I think watching the film at the launch screening this week was perhaps the 10th time. Although I've watched it scene by scene a huge amount, whilst creating interview questions. Someone came up to me at the screening and said he'd watched it right through hundreds of times.
It's a film that most discover for the first time on VHS or DVD. It sounds like you did it right, watching on a big screen.
I remember Paul McGann and Ralph Brown on a watch-along saying, “You have to watch it in the cinema. It is a cinema film.” And it is. My wife and I went to see it in the cinema in Brighton and the only seats we could get were centre front. Usually, I hate being in the front row, but it was incredible. I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else. When Monty's room appeared on screen; We were in it. In his parlour.
When you see it on a big screen, you do really appreciate not just the landscapes, but things like the crap inside Withnail's place. There's a level of detail that's gone into the production design that makes it feel real.
That reminds me of something Bruce recently said. “I can't believe that people still love this.” He quite often says this. I said to him: ‘ I think it's because people feel that you've created something which feels so real that your characters actually exist.' And Bruce said: “Well, maybe it is real in some other place in time.” Creating a great film is juggling ten balls at the same time. You have to be lucky, you have to get everything right. Yes, the dialogue was perfect, but then the casting, the weather, the cinematographer, the camera operator Bob Smith, everything has to be perfect and also have that huge slice of luck. And Bruce hit perfection as near to it as you can.
How did the book initially come about?
In lockdown, I wrote Bruce a letter explaining what I wanted to do – the book I envisaged. I said I would only do it if he was a part of it. I wouldn't do it without his permission, because for me, he is Withnail and I. I think he probably felt he'd be in safe hands because he would get close to full editorial sign-off. Every time I did an interview I'd send it to him by snail mail because his inbox is 40,000 unread emails. He'd come back and say, “Yeah, this is great, but this didn't happen” or “I didn't say that I said this.” I think he appreciated the approach and the fact that I loved the film deeply, and wanted the best for the film and for him, and his legacy. I just want to further the history of the film. To celebrate it, but also to further the depth of history, and I feel we accomplished that.
What was what was it like visiting him at his place for a delightful weekend in the country?
He's a very welcoming, lovely guy, and we spent the weekend going through everything, opening drawers and pulling things out that no one had ever seen. As a fan, can you imagine? “Here's a postcard from Richard E. Grant,” or “Here's a letter from Vivian MacKerrell” (Robinson's friend and fellow actor who was the inspiration for the character of Withnail). There was so much stuff that he was pulling out of drawers that only he had seen. He allowed us to use personal photos that his wife Sophie had taken on location. He's very warm, welcoming and a real gentleman. He's the coolest person I've ever met.
How did the journey of creating the book go? Was it difficult getting all the main players on board?
I spoke to Bruce first and then got hold of Richard E Grant, and then Paul McGann was introduced by Ralph Brown. I had a great interview with Ralph Brown – he vouched for me and introduced me to Paul who then rang me up and said, “Ralph says you're all right, let's do this.”
You interviewed cinematographer Peter Hannan, Unit Production Manager Matthew Binns, stills photographer Murray Close, musician Peter Frampton who did makeup and even actor Anthony Wise, the actor who only got one line but it was the infamous “Get in the back of the van!” Who was a particularly surprising treasure trove of stories and information for you?
I loved speaking to composers Rick Wentworth and David Dundas, and digging into their inspiration. Peter Hannan was an absolute wonder and has so many great insights. (Production Manager) Matthew Binns was fantastic. I mean, who knows his name in relation to Withnail and I? But he was so instrumental, even down in finding Sleddale Hall, the location of the cottage they visit.
Why do you think Withnail and I is so special and has proliferated for the best part of 35 years?
It's become a cliché, but it has to come down to the dialogue. For me, it's because when Bruce wrote it, he had his glass of wine on the go, and as he was typing it, he'd take on the persona of each character, and he'd speak each line and each syllable in a certain inflection so that when he talked to Ralph Brown about the voice, (even though Ralph Brown collaborated with the voice together.) Bruce knew syllable to syllable how he wanted him to say it. Is there another film that stuck to the dialogue, to the screenplay as tightly as that? He created something so tangible that's stood the test of time.
Is Bruce aware of the impact Withnail and I has had on people?
Yeah, more and more. But he still can't believe it. I think it has, over the years, sunk in more. But maybe it's become more concrete now after that huge round of applause from a full audience at a big cinema – how important it is still to people who are older now, and still love his creation. Probably more than ever. It only gets better with every watch.
Can you share a nugget or a previously unknown story that you learned from the course of putting the book?
Yes, when Paul McGann shared his favourite moment from the film. It's when the postman you don't see arrives with the telegram. Marwood doesn't read the telegram out, we're meant to glean what it is. The way we get to find out is from Withnail's response. He's sitting there at the table and he's eating. I come over and I hand it to him, and my favourite bit in the whole film is his reaction to reading it, and the way he says “Well done. Everything… about their inevitable parting, Richard plays in three seconds. All the love, all the hurt, what it costs. Everything in that reaction, in that expression. To me, it's genius screen-acting.'
I'll end in a similar vein to the one I started, with a question that Withnail fans always ask each other…
“What's your favourite quote?”
That's the one.
I don't have a single one because I love every quote. Each line is perfection and I can't pull one out. The whole screenplay is my favourite quote.
Withnail and I: From Cult to Classic is available now.
