Naked (1993 film)
| Naked | |
|---|---|
| File:307 naked.jpg Criterion Collection DVD cover for Naked | |
| Directed by | Mike Leigh |
| Written by | Mike Leigh |
| Produced by | Simon Channing-Williams |
| Starring | David Thewlis Lesley Sharp Katrin Cartlidge |
| Cinematography | Dick Pope |
| Edited by | Jon Gregory |
| Music by | Andrew Dickson |
| Distributed by | Fine Line Features |
Release date | 1993 |
Running time | 131 min. |
| Country | U.K. |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1,769,305 (USA) |
- For other uses of naked(ness), see Naked (disambiguation)
Naked (1993) is a 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.
Plot
Template:Spoilers After a bout of violent, mercenary sex in an alley with an unidentified woman, Johnny (David Thewlis), a fiercely intelligent but disturbingly embittered working-class Mancunian, steals a car and flees his home, in Manchester, for London, to seek refuge with his former girlfriend, Louise (Lesley Sharp).
Behaving recklessly and sadistically, he seduces her flatmate, Sophie (Katrin Cartlidge), before embarking on an extended latter-day odyssey among the destitute and despairing of the United Kingdom's capital city. Towards the end of the film, he also attempts to seduce Louise and Sophie's flatmate Sandra (Claire Skinner) when she returns from a holiday in Africa, to no avail.
During his encounters in London's seedy underbelly, Johnny expounds his fatalist world-view at long and lyrical length to anyone who will listen, whilst the sinister presence of his ex-girlfriend's landlord, Jeremy (Greg Cruttwell), lurks in the background. Johnny eventually suffers horribly at the hands of thugs; and, when the true owner of the flat 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 really in his twenties. Template:Endspoiler
Themes
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Naked is minimal on plot, dependent on the audience's fascination on the interaction between the characters, and has been praised as an outstanding work of modern realism, with highly convincing performances all round. The central character is, in many ways, deeply unpleasant, misogynistic, violent, and extremely rude. He is also very witty, and his appraisals of the dire situations he sees are extremely honest. The film's great achievement is to create strong sympathy for such an anti-hero.
Naked has been accused of glamorising anti-woman attitudes in creating such a compelling misogynist character; but scenes towards the end of the film, in particular, render that claim somewhat hollow. Among the huge array of dysfunctional characters, only Louise emerges at the end with any dignity. While Johnny is the most entertaining character of the film, Louise is its moral centre.
Main cast
- David Thewlis as Johnny
- Lesley Sharp as Louise Clancy
- Katrin Cartlidge as Sophie
- Greg Cruttwell as Jeremy G. Smart, also known as Sebastian Hawk
- Claire Skinner as Sandra the Nurse
- Ewen Bremner as Archie the Scotsman with a Tick
Trivia
- 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.
Awards and nominations
- Critics have praised David Thewlis’s performance in Naked, which, despite its dark tone, stars him in one of his best roles to date. He has won the following awards for his work in Naked:
- Cannes Film Festival: Best Actor (1993)
- Evening Standard British Film Awards: Best Actor (1994)
- London Critics Circle Film Awards ALFS Award: British Actor of the Year (1994)
- National Society of Film Critics Awards: Best Actor (1994)
- New York Film Critics Circle Awards: Best Actor (1993)
- Among other award wins/nominations for Naked are
- BAFTA Awards Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film (1994) (nominated)
- Cannes Film Festival(1993): Best Director (won)
- Cannes Film Festival (1993): Golden Palm (nominated)
- Cinéfest: Best International Film (1993) (won)
- Independent Spirit Awards: Best Foreign Film (1994) (nominated)
- Toronto International Film Festival: Metro Media Award (1993) (won)
External links
Further reading
- Ali Catterall and Simon Wells, Your Face Here: British Cult Movies Since The Sixties (Fourth Estate, 2001) ISBN 0-00-714554-3