Naked

If you liked Pi or The Cruise then you should check out Naked. It's an amazing exploration of a man descended into nihilism, who leaves victims of his intellectual bullying (and misogyny) everywhere. No, it's not PC. Yes, it feels so real. Sorry to gush, but I loved this film.

I like American Existential Anti-Heroes. I wasn't really prepared to confront an English Existential Anti-Hero. Wow, what a different take on a similar stimulus.

This film is a monument to gritty realism, without being self-conscious about it. You can taste this movie. But you never feel like it was faked or forced. The camera work and the lighting never get in the way. I usually notice such things, and here it was invisible and completely immersive. David Thewlis throws every bit of his body into this movie. Even the great closing credit scene.

I would be remiss if I didn't point out the fantastic black humor, especially since some people said it wasn't funny! Sophie wails in the most sustained way I have ever seen in drama. And it's hysterical, even as you're hurting with her. The frantic Scottish kid made me rewind again and again. While I agree that the "landlord" character could have been over the top, his reaction to Johnny flailing on the floor made me laugh out loud. The two characters are really barely distinguishable but that one is a dandy and the other has a fondness for the gutter. As the poster-hanger beats the crap out of our anti-hero you can't help but laugh. And then you nod along as Louise tells him he had it coming in her terrific and constant deadpan (with an occasional suggestion of a smile).

As our protagonist points out, in the end, all the books, and all the learning, and all the discussion, still don't help you understand the point of the cruel joke of life. Yes, it's an old dorm-room discussion that freshman are still having for the 1st time. But that doesn't make the question and the questioning any less desperate. It is human to cry out in pain, even when it's self-inflicted. The references to making a choice for self-destruction are throughout the dialogue, but not so much so that they hit you in the head.

Naked is depressing and euphoric at the same time. Yes it's often "awful", but how can you not cheer for someone who loves life and is trying his hardest to fully engage it? And not one character (or question) gets a pat Hollywood ending or moral -- woo-hoo!

This movie is why people can call film a legitimate art form. It provokes thought, it is drama, and it is beautiful. It thrills me.

Someone asked if the dialogue was improvised. According to IFC, Mike Leigh rehearsed with the cast for 11 weeks before writing the script, which then came to only 25 pages.

One of the most powerful British films of the 90s. Mike Leigh directs David Thewlis in an unrelenting, uncompromisingly cynical portrayal of self-loathing and alienation

In this, Leigh's toughest, most uncompromising work for cinema, Thewlis turns in a stunningly uningratiating performance. He utterly immerses himself in the role of Johnny, an articulate, disenfranchised angry young man, who's escaped Manchester after a bit of rough outdoor sex turns into something a lot like rape.

Johnny flees to London to hook up with an old girlfriend Louise (Sharp). While wandering around the city he gives free rein to his unfocused rage and indulges in some further degrading sexual encounters, notably with the dippy and compliant Sophie (Cartlidge).

This is brilliant stuff, but hard to stomach. Once again Leigh proves what a big problem he has with London's bourgeoisie, particularly with his portrayal of the smooth, sexually exploitative Jeremy (Cruttwell).

Leigh gives us so little to cling to here. There is barely a symphathetic character aside from security guard Brian (Wright), who dreams of escaping to Ireland. So the viewer is stuck with the edgy autodidact Johnny. It's an immensely powerful film about self-loathing and urban alienation, but, Thewlis' remarkable performanace notwithstading, staying the two hour distance is asking for a lot, even from die-hard Leigh fans.

I first watched the movie on a recommendation and was hooked on Mike Leigh movies ever after.

Naked does not mess around with polite small talk, No, it truly baptizes the viewer into a gritty, dirty puddle of London which leaves you feeling like taking a shower after your through.

When I watched Naked as a student I had been to London only once, having now lived in the capital for over two years I have seen the dirty underbelly and appreciate the honesty of leigh's film more so now than ever.

I particularly enjoyed 'The wandering Scots', and the 'Security Guard' whom are both lost, yet in very different ways.

Thinking back to the time i watched it i was captivated by the dialog, and the self destructive element that hung like dynamite around our characters. This frustrated me than but now being more mature i can accept it as inevitable for these individuals.

I can honestly say that there are not many movies that make one feel this way, make one reflect and feel so empty looking at Johnys life and future...

I have the utmost respect for all the actors in this film. Yet, it has been a number of years since i have watched it as it is a long embarkation through the soul of human suffering...watch it for the pure genius that is Mike & David but be sure to watch it in good company that has an open mind.

Enjoy

Having a bad day? Then check out Mike Leigh's masterpiece; the tale of Johnny, a mid twenties Mancunian drifter who heads down to London (having nicked a car) and tracks down an old girlfriend. He seduces Sophie (the excellent Katrin Cartlidge), unleashes a display of venom on his old lover, Louise (Lesley Sharp) and staggers off into the night when both women become too much for him to bear. His odyssey takes him to a world of the homeless, including an illiterate Scot (Trainspotting's Ewen Bremner) and his long suffering girlfriend (Susan Vidler) and a lonely nightwatchman (Peter Wight) guarding empty space. It's during this lengthy scene that David Thewlis proves to be one of the most versatile actors of his generation, delivering a speech of bleak complexity and pre-millennial doom that leaves most viewers reeling. Juxtaposed with Johnny is Louise's rapist Yuppie landlord (Greg Cruttwell), perhaps the weakest character in the movie. He's rich, crass and brutal, but also appears to be a sneering cartoon character, overshadowed by Johnny's hard edged intellect. Naked is the flip side of Leigh's previous movie, Life is Sweet. A bitter tale of loneliness, depression and Thatcher's wasted youth that seemed to be forgotten by most home grown film-makers in the mad rush to emulate Wall Street. Had a bad day? Then this is the equivalent of the Blues for the eyes and food for thought. Cheers Mr Leigh.

An unemployed - but intelligent - social misfit goes on the run to London following a back alley rape, but finds The Capital just as desperate and alienating as his native Manchester.

This is one of the hardest films I have ever had to review. Topics such as urban alienation, career-choice unemployment, leeching, homelessness, drug taking and sexual violence would normally send me running for cover; but what we have here is so well constructed and so skilfully acted that it transcends it own headline topics.

This is a classic case of car-wreck film making: You don't praise or celebrate much, yet it is deeply fascinating and even hypnotic. People are tap dancing on the edge of a metaphorical cliff - some are there of there of their own free will.

Director Mike Leigh's semi-improvisational style doesn't always work, but here it really delivers something unique. You feel that you are watching real life even though too much happens in too short a time period for that to be the case.

This is a wandering odyssey film and features a central performance - by David Thewlis - that ranks along the best ever witnessed in cinema. How the Oscar people could have (totally) turned their back on a performance as a good as this puzzles; although the film and actor won prizes in Cannes and New York.

This is the first film I have ever seen that takes on sexual coercion in a head on fashion. People that have put themselves in a chemical or social situation where someone has something over them. The greasy upper crust landlord (Greg Cruttwell) might seem over-the-top to many but I know a few people actually like that!

(For the record his actions would be deemed illegal in real life - if you have seen the film.)

What happens to the on-screen people the day after this film ends? Has anything really changed? For Johnny - our central anti-hero - it will be just another day to duck and dive, avoid all work and wind people up using his extensive back reading.