Naked on DVD (1993)

Martin Edwards from Crystal Palace, London [Highly rated reviewer] , 13/08/2004

Such a fantastic film. At times sickeningly ugly; at others hilarious. David Thewlis plays the part of Johnny so well that you can't help but like him, even though he's sick and probably deserves to be buried. I can't recommend this film highly enough. If you see it and don't get it, fine. But every time I've put my copy of this film on for friends who haven't seen it there has been an awed silence afterwards.

  31 out of 35 people found this review helpful

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Carol from Surrey, England , 17/05/2007

This is my number one film ever. I rarely watch films more than once or twice, but I have watched this one over and over again. Often just one scene. Yes, it’s brutal and nasty, but also has flashes of great compassion. Like all Mike Leigh’s films, it is a study of the “small” people, people who may not do or discover or create anything great or terrible enough to be recognized in history books, but who still, just by coping with this life, by small deeds, good or bad, are raised to heroic status. Mike Leigh’s message is simple – everyone is a hero in there own life. David Thewlis, as Johnny, is one of the most outstanding performances I have ever seen. Mike Leigh builds his characters and scripts from improvisation, and the actors will research and develop their own characters, so the words David Thewlis speaks are largely his own invention. The speech he gives to the security guard in the office block he takes shelter one night is alone enough reason to watch this film. Johnny swings from cruelty to compassion – one moment we see him trying to help a homeless man find his girlfriend, the next he systematically destroys all the security guard’s hopes and dreams. He is kind to a shy, unhappy waitress, but viciously insults a woman he pretends to want to seduce. He treats his ex-girlfriend with respect, but then treats her flat-mate with utter disrespect and disdain. He is obviously a highly intelligent man, but disturbed and confused and restless. He knows he should be great, but is frustrated by his disillusionment with life and humanity. He cannot understand the dreams and hopes of others, he cannot understand what he sees as false optimism the something better will happen – as he says to the security guard, “the future is now”, as opposed to wishful thinking that at some point life will get better. And to his ex-girlfriend’s flat-mate, he destroys her hopes by telling her what if the best thing that will ever happen to you has already happened? What if for the rest of your life nothing that good will ever happen again? The best moment has gone, and for the rest of your life you will never experience that happiness again. All of this is set to a relentless rhythm, the relentlessness of life, of simply surviving. This rhythm is portrayed in the repetitive music, the same theme tune over and over again, in the speech patterns of Johnny, the nervous tick of the homeless man. I have mentioned David Thewlis, because his performance truly should have deserved an Oscar. But the other characters are just as watchable, including the wonderful performances of Lesley Sharp (calm, strong, and the only person who really understands Johnny), and Katrin Cartlidge (nervous, inferiority complex, needy), and even the sadistic loathsome landlord (who, in contrast to Johnny, does not seem to have any compassion at all). Overall, despite what might sound a very bleak film, at the end, I did feel uplifted. Johnny, despite all, still moves on, determined to somehow find whatever it is that will redeem him and to finally understand the meaning of his life. And all the characters, however bleak their lives are, still manage to hope and dream. And this is what makes us human, and why we tolerate life, even in the knowledge of our certain death. In memory of Katrin Cartlidge.

  25 out of 26 people found this review helpful

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* * * This review contains spoilers * * *

Northernsky from Halifax [Highly rated reviewer] , 08/08/2007

Someone I know once called this the “Most depressing film I have ever seen “. He obviously hadn’t seen “Mad Cows” or “Pearl Harbour” for while Naked is without doubt ,a bleak, sordid trawl through Britain’s or more appositely London’s underbelly it is shot through with caustic humour , odd moments of baffling empathy and is disturbingly compulsive .

Naked is ,to give it a slightly pseudo sarky synopsis in thrall to its nihilistic anti-hero , an Oddysey for the nineties ( it was released in 1993)as Johnny (David Thewlis)flees his native Manchester for London to escape the beating surely coming his way after raping a girl in an alleyway. Johnny isn’t a very nice person, He’s misogynistic (Indeed the whole film has been accused of misogyny , overlooking the fact that the films moral centre is female), cruel , calculating and mendacious .However he is also laceratingly witty , and fiercely intelligent so that despite his objectionable behavoiur his painful self awareness and razor sharp mind win you over.

Once in London Johnny tracks down ex-girlfriend Louise (Lesley Sharp) who is sharing a flat with neurotic Lesley (Karin Cartlidge) .Johnny , quick to spot vulnerability seduces Lesley .The flats landlord Jeremy (Greg Cruttwell) , is the films one character drawn in broad strokes A virulently obnoxious product of Thatcher’s policies and world view he is a snorting stalking oil slick of a man , happy to accept sexual favours in lieu of rent and dispensing crass one liners like the repulsive off spring of Alan B,astard and Bernard Manning .

Johnny wishing to escape the clutches of the over bearing Lesley goes an fascinating tour of the capitols seamy back streets interacting with the characters he randomly bumps into. There is Archie(Ewen Bremner) , a young Scotsman with a violent tick -which Johnny relentlessly mimics ,screaming for his girlfriend Maggie( Susan Vidler). While Archie is clearly disturbed and completely disenfranchised to Johnny he is mere amusement and once bored with him he moves on meeting Brian ( Peter Wright) a night watchman “Guarding Space” and its here , in their exchanges that Johnny’s voracious intelligence and veracity really shines as he flattens the trusting and gentle Brian with his apocalyptic logic.

He taunts Brian by seducing a women(Deborah McClaren) Brian has been observing from his workplace, winds up a wired fly poster(Darren Tuntstall) so much that he head butts him, then attempts to win over an attractive waitress in a café(Gina Mckee) before being beaten up by a laughing gang in an alley way . Crawling back to the flat he is given the option of a way out of his current sordid life by the empathic Louise , but not before the return of the flats true owner Sandra(Claire Skinner)back from a holiday in Africa who is so appalled by events that she is rendered almost speechless ,not that it stops her trying as Johnny finishes her sentences for her in vary funny scene.

The film ends on a down beat note as Johnny having shared a tender compassionate moment with Louise , the films one truly sympathetic character -a scene which hints at deep seated psychological problems for him he steals her money and slinks off limping . The thought of settling down and leading something approximating a normal life which is what Louise offers are more than he can bear and so he rejects her and chooses the sordid nefarious existence instead.

Naked is a relentless trawl though a dystopian country , and sadly one that has if anything descended further into dystopia and societal meltdown. The film relied heavily on improvisation , though little of what we see on screen was ad-libbed , the improvisation was more of a tool for the actors to know their characters .Thewlis gives an absolutely mesmerizing performance as Johnny , so much so its hard to see him as anyone else , and the other actors are all superb . Naked is truly great British film and an inexplicably overlooked one at that . It’s not easy viewing , for sure but there aren’t many films that you come way from looking at not just the events portrayed differently but life as a whole. You may reject most of it but think about it you will .

  11 out of 11 people found this review helpful

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A customer from Suffolk , 13/09/2008

I watched this years ago and found this film to be extremely disturbing in the gratuitouness and frequency of the rape scenes, one prolonged scene in particular, and it's depiction of women in general. I never really understood why it was so highly rated. Granted David Thewlis is an fine actor who can carry any film, but I still fail to see the justification for making this film - what the message was supposed to be.

  10 out of 10 people found this review helpful

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Martin Edwards from Crystal Palace, London [Highly rated reviewer] , 13/08/2004

Such a fantastic film. At times sickeningly ugly; at others hilarious. David Thewlis plays the part of Johnny so well that you can't help but like him, even though he's sick and probably deserves to be buried. I can't recommend this film highly enough. If you see it and don't get it, fine. But every time I've put my copy of this film on for friends who haven't seen it there has been an awed silence afterwards.

  31 out of 35 people found this review helpful

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A customer from Yeovil , 21/11/2008

This movie is alright but bit poor too.... its also very complicate!

  1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

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