4. Withnail And I (1987)
Basically two down and out actors - Withnail and narrator Marwood (aka I) live in a crappy tiny flat in London. Withnail comes from a privileged background and throughout the film, he exhibits extreme self destructive behaviour through drinking himself silly. He also has bile filled rants about how the universe let him down and purposefully singled him out for pain. He goes to visit his flamboyantly gay uncle - Monty - in the countryside and this leads to Marwood being a target for the sexually rapacious old man. Marwood gets a proper acting job where he cuts his hair short and believes he is destined for greater things. Withnail's grip on his bottle of wine grows tighter. Despite (or maybe because) of Withnail's destructive behaviour, Withnail and I is a veritable cult film which showcases the very finest skills in British movie making. Richard E Grant is blistering in his role as Withnail. This would be the launchpad for his acting career. The character of Withnail is terribly tragic and steeped in pathos. Everything about the film manages to be both hilariously funny and desperately sad at the same time. You can feel the rancour of Withnail - his life hasn't worked out the way he wants it and now he sees success ahead for his best friend and all he has is a bottle of Monty's wine. For me it was quite melancholy.