Naked
September 7th 2010 02:39
Mike Leigh’s greatest movie, Naked (1993), is a tour-de-force of direction, acting, and writing; the screenplay of which was created mostly from improvisation during an eleven-week rehearsal period. Director Leigh’s original script was only twenty-five pages long and in utilising his renowned in-depth dramaturgy and workshop ethic, he carved a powerhouse narrative about the desolation of relationships and the despair of humanity. A cracked, fragile society desperate for love, starved of affection, weighed down by the burden of urban pressures, maimed by the cruelty set upon each other by each other. Naked is the human soul and its psyche laid bare and scratched raw until it bleeds.
David Thewlis as Johnny
Katrin Cartlidge as Sophie and Lesley Sharp as Louise
Sophie trades sexual favours for rent with landlord Jeremy (Greg Crutwell)
Jeremy/Sebastian (Greg Cruttwall) is a wealthy playboy sociopath (borderline psychopath). While Johnny is weaving his way in and out of London’s back streets Jeremy is worming his way through his own series of dodgy escapades; first he propositions a masseuse, then following a dinner date he leaves with the waitress, and eventually winds up at the flat of Louise and Sophie. It turns out he not only knows Sandra (Claire Skinner), the lease-holder who’s return from holiday is imminent, but is apparently the landlord. He and Sophie have sex and he treats her with contempt and cruelty. Johnny arrives back at the flat having been beaten up by a roaming gang. Jeremy and Johnny share a strange moment of surprised recognition.
Johnny and Brian (Peter Wight) spy on a lonely woman
One of the primary themes of Naked is the failure of human beings to connect, of a basic, almost primal, behaviour based on selfishness. All of the characters presented are locked in their realm of despair and loneliness. Naked portrays a truly lonely planet. Even Louise, the only person in the movie with the capacity for unconditional love is abandoned. Sandra is neurotic, Sophie is pathetic, and Jeremy is evil. Johnny is not quite the anti-hero, more the tortured protagonist, capable of abject antagonism, yet is oddly, grotesquely fascinating, as a result of his searing intelligence and acidic wit.
Louise offers Johnny compassion despite his attitude
Naked takes no prisoners, makes no concessions, offers no explanations, leaves no excuses. It is a nightmare torn apart to expose the broken dreams of the emotionally fragile and frail. Johnny is an opportunist whose abhorrent behaviour is born from desperation, while Jeremy is a scheming manipulator whose aberrant actions are born from wickedness. I like to entertain a Biblical perspective to the narrative suggesting that Johnny and Jeremy have been kicked out of heaven, holding contempt for God and all of His creation; humankind, but especially women. Jeremy is a demon, Johnny is a fallen angel. Both are in purgatory, but while Jeremy is content with his own excess and others' humiliation, Johnny struggles to find purpose in his contempt.
Naked is not a movie specifically about misogynist men, but a movie about the capacity men have for self-destruction and cruelty, and the women who allow these contemptuous creatures to enter their lives. Naked is a movie where optimism has been crucified and human frailty is abused.
Endlessly quotable, blackly funny, harsh, corrosive and deeply resonant; a movie that ages with the tannin of a fortified wine, yet retains the taste of the most bitter pill. A portrait of despair, a study of misanthropy, a disquieting glimmer of humankind’s perseverance in the face of moral decay and low-esteem, Naked is cinema’s quintessential suicidal cry for help. “Don’t waste your life.” Essential viewing.
This is the first in my three-movie series: “An English Hell”.
Here’s an excerpt (the only official trailer I could find was for the Criterion release which misleadingly makes the movie look like a lighthearted romp):
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Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
Comment by ShaunK
Screen Adventure
An appropriately excellent review Bryn. I consider Naked to be one of the greatest films ever made, if not one of the best film of the Nineties.
David, I thought Secrets and Lies was a tad over rated and surprisingly melodramatic for Leigh and definitely marked a down turn in his quality of work (is this comment also giving you de ja vu right now).
Bryn and David - have you ever seen Leigh's film called 'Meantime', I believe it to be his best work (JD agrees with me if that convinces you), Naked is my second favorite after that
Comment by ShaunK
Screen Adventure
Comment by Jason King
Sydney Table
Salty Popcorn
Total Randomness
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
I didn't actually see Naked when it was first released, well, not entirely. It was playing at the cinema I worked at, but I couldn't stand what I saw of David Thewlis, and the movie looked way too talky for my tastes. Of course, I changed, the movie didn't.
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Though this film didn't engross me as completely as it intended still falls into the must see category for raw acting.
Comment by Danijel
Cheers,
Danijel
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile