'Withnail & I' (1987)

McGann and Grant are masterful, and it's an absolute shame that neither actor really reached the peaks of their contemporaries -- particularly McGann. Richard Griffiths is also a hoot and a half as Uncle Monty.

I mean, he'll always be Clifford from Spice World to me.

In terms of that comment, it's clear that he thinks that Hollywood is far more vapid and that there isn't a whole lot of great mental talent compared to his hometown gang, which he probably views as more cerebral.

Day-Lewis and McGann together would've been amazing.

McGann is kind of the definitive example of "what could've been": he was almost Sharpe (which is what catapulted Sean Bean into the limelight), he was the Eighth Doctor in an aborted reboot of Doctor Who (and he's always been my favorite Doctor), and what I consider his greatest performance (Golic in Alien 3, which is a harrowing take on Renfield and is perhaps the most visceral portrayal of mad zealotry I've seen in film) was drastically truncated in the original theatrical cut, only being restored in the assembly version a decade or so later. McGann had the looks, the presence, and the talent of his "Brit Pack" cohorts, but never quite stuck the landing the way Day-Lewis and the others did. When he cropped up on Luther, I was stoked when I heard he was in it, but it was a relatively thankless role that didn't use him to his full potential.

Love the film. One of, if not THE, most quotable films for me. To add to the praise of its script: I read it a few months ago and, despite worth purchasing alone for the quite touching introduction by Bruce, I was surprised by how playful and witty the written action was. For those curious I’ll list some bits:

On their apartment: “Dostoyevsky described hell as perhaps nothing more than a room with a chair in it. This room has several chairs.”

“A church bell tolls somewhere. Misery times eight equals this Sunday. Marwood is squinting at his reflection in a puddle. Like an Escher drawing.”

On Withnail, “beginning to look like some minor character from a 19th-century Russian novel. Withnailovich. Incidental to the plot.”

After the ending soliloquy: “Albert Finney never felt so good.”