Main Cast: Mike Leigh, Lesley Sharpe, David Thewlis, Lesley Sharp, Katrin Cartlidge, Greg Cruttwell, Claire Skinner
Release Year: 1993
Country: UK
Run Time: 126 minutes
MPAA Rating: NR
Plot
A scathing look at Britain in the post-Thatcher era, Mike Leigh's Naked stars David Thewlis as Johnny, an unemployed layabout with a philosophical bent and a nasty edge. In the opening scene, he's committing rape, and before the credits even roll, he's also stolen a car to flee from Manchester to the London home of an old girlfriend (Lesley Sharp). The film's loose, sprawling narrative follows Johnny as he randomly makes his way through the streets of London, encountering a homeless Scottish couple, a nightwatchman and a series of women whom he charms and discards. He lives defiantly outside of the system, refusing to conform to the demands of anyone (including himself). ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
Review
Both hailed and criticized for its bleakness and its basically brutal treatment of women, Naked is an intensely powerful and disturbing motion picture experience. Director Mike Leigh is making a pull-no-punches statement about late 20th century Britain, specifically about the manner in which social systems enable (and allegedly encourage) the strong to abuse the weak. This includes Johnny, a down-and-out drifter with a keen intellect and razor-sharp wit. Victimized by this system, he in turn takes his anger out on those weaker than he, generally women and specifically those who express feelings of warmth or concern toward him. The brutality with which Johnny (and others) treat many of the women in the film is difficult to take; indeed, much of the film is challenging to watch, as there is a rawness and hopelessness that permeates the film. This is leavened by a great deal of humor, as Johnny's brilliant mind can always come up with surprising and amusing comments; but even the humor is of a black or mean bent. Many will be turned off by all of this, but many will also find it exhilarating, thanks to David Thewlis's brilliant acting and Leigh's assured and masterly handling of the material. Thewlis gives one of the most impressive screen performances of the 1990s; his Johnny may be mean, bitter, and almost unbearably angry, but he can also be charming, witty, and even at times sympathetic. Thewlis conveys the quiet desperation that lies beneath the character's unpleasant characteristics, and makes the viewer feel for him, even as he feels repulsed. It is a fascinating portrait. Naked is often horrible to watch, but those who can do so without looking away will be amply rewarded. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Peter Wight - Brian; Susan Vidler - Maggie; Deborah MacLaren - Woman In Window; Gina McKee - Cafe Girl; Mike Leigh; David Foxxe - Tea Bar Owner; Robert Putt - Chauffeur; Sandra Voe - Bag Lady; Peter Whitman - Mr. Halpern; Elizabeth Berrington - Giselle; Ewen Bremner - Archie; Toby Jones - Man in Tea Bar; Lesley Sharpe
Credit
Eve Stewart - Art Director, Lindy Hemming - Costume Designer, Mike Leigh - Director, Jon Gregory - Editor, Andrew Dixon - Composer (Music Score), Andrew Dickson - Composer (Music Score), Christine Blundell - Makeup, Dick Pope - Camera Operator, Alison Chitty - Production Designer, Steven Jones-Evans - Production Designer, Dick Pope - Cinematographer, Simon Channing-Williams - Producer, Mike Leigh - Screenwriter
Naked is a 1993 British film directed by Mike Leigh. Before this film, Leigh was known for more-low-key, subtler comedic dissections of middle-class and working-class manners. Naked was more stark and brutal than his previous works. Leigh relied heavily on improvisation in the making of the movie, but little actual ad-libbing was filmed; lengthy rehearsals in character provided much of the script. Almost all of the dialogue was filmed as written.
After a sexual encounter with a married woman in an alley in Manchester turns sour, Johnny (David Thewlis) steals a car and flees his hometown for London to seek refuge with his former girlfriend, Louise (Lesley Sharp).
An intelligent, educated and eloquent, if disturbingly embittered man, Johnny consistently keeps up with a reckless and at times borderline sadistic behaviour; he seduces Louise's flatmate, Sophie (Katrin Cartlidge), before embarking on an extended latter-day odyssey among the destitute and despairing of the United Kingdom's capital city.
During his encounters in London's seedy underbelly, Johnny expounds his world-view (which in different instances seems to be fatalist, nihilist or transhumanist) at long and lyrical length to anyone who will listen, whilst the sinister presence of his ex-girlfriend's psychopathic landlord, Jeremy (Greg Cruttwell), lurks in the background. Johnny eventually suffers horribly at the hands of thugs in the most casual manner; and, when the true owner of the flat (Claire Skinner) returns from a trip overseas, Johnny is compelled to leave, to throw himself back into the world as he has ostensibly done so many times before.
It is subtly hinted at, throughout the movie, that Johnny's unusual personality and behaviour could be the result of a variety of (presumably undiagnosed and untreated) medical conditions, including manic depression, and whatever it is that causes him to experience episodic, severe headaches. These conditions are certainly affecting him physically; one of the characters he meets thinks he's about 40 years old, when he's actually only 27.
