Naked
Composite Score: 82.6
Starring: David Thewlis, Lesley Sharp, Katrin Cartlidge, Greg Cruttwell, Claire Skinner, Peter Wight, Ewen Bremner, and Susan Vidler
Director: Mike Leigh
Writer: Mike Leigh
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Box Office: $1.80 million worldwide
Why should you Watch This Film?
Naked is a film written and directed by Mike Leigh about the interweaving lives of a group of single young Brits over the course of a couple of days, centered on the wildly flawed character of Johnny, played by David Thewlis. Its fast-talking protagonists, rife with loose and flexible senses of morality, drive what is a fairly disjointed plot that touches on poverty, homelessness, philosophy, street gangs, masculinity, sexuality, and a plethora of other topics. Within this context, Thewlis holds his own as the “leading man” in a cast of unknowns and b-listers, shining the light on his supporting cast, while elevating his own status in the process. It’s an interesting film to say the least, but it might not be for everyone.
Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?
One aspect of Naked that will undoubtedly frustrate many viewers is its characters’ loose sense of morality, which results in a group of characters that might be sympathetic but never quite reach empathetic levels. The fluctuating strength and weakness of the female protagonists (Louise, Sophie, and Sandra) as they bounce back and forth between standing up for themselves and rolling over keeps them from ever becoming feminist icons or warning signs of how not to be. In a similar vein, Johnny’s pitiful state (and perhaps mental health issues) makes him into what should be an empathetic character, but his constant abuse and assault of the women that he encounters keeps him from being anything but the film’s central character. Perhaps the only character whose morals and position can be truly nailed down is Jeremy, the film’s implicit antagonist whose entire approach to life is so aggressively immoral and/or amoral that any feeling other than loathing toward him should probably signal a need for some serious therapy.
In addition to some frustratingly ambiguous character choices, Naked’s dialogue is only a success on the surface level, coming across quite often as more of a think-piece than true conversation. This film most likely wouldn’t be made today because anyone who thinks and acts like Johnny does has no need to go around sharing their wild conspiracies and philosophical derivations to individuals in-person; they’d just start a podcast instead. Indeed, many of the film’s witticisms and “deep” ponderings on the nature of things sound more like the ramblings of a niche podcast than film dialogue. Perhaps that is the goal and the point, and I’m just missing out, but it didn’t hit home for me like it seems to have for so many others.
So wait, why should you Watch This Film?
Short answer, David Thewlis. Though his character is questionable at best and though his dialogue feels ridiculously self-important, his commitment to delivery and his undeniable charisma carry the film. For portraying a character that is objectively pretty disgusting, he never fails to keep the audience’s attention squarely on him. He delivers a performance that perfectly matches the role he is being asked to play – a character that the audience should not like but has to pay attention to. He fits this role beautifully, fluctuating between charm and snark and downright malice with impressive ease, leaving the audience truly uncomfortable but wowed with his performance.
As a vehicle for a career-launching performance for Thewlis and as a decent example of Mike Leigh’s writer/director capabilities, Naked shines, earning itself a place among the Greatest Films of All Time. Unfortunately, its character ambiguities and frustratingly self-insistent dialogue often get in the way of what is otherwise a perfectly solid film and have rightly kept it from becoming a mainstream hit. This film is currently available to stream on the Criterion Collection for those interested.
