X
- 1993
- Not Rated
- Fine Line Features
- 2 h 11 m
- 1993
- Not Rated
- Fine Line Features
- 2 h 11 m
Summary Johnny (David Thewlis) flees Manchester for London. There he finds an old girlfriend, and spends some time homeless, ranting at strangers, and meeting characters in plights very much like his own.
Directed By: Mike Leigh
Written By: Mike Leigh
- 1993
- Not Rated
- Fine Line Features
- 2 h 11 m
- 1993
- Not Rated
- Fine Line Features
- 2 h 11 m
Naked
8.1
Where to Watch
Summary Johnny (David Thewlis) flees Manchester for London. There he finds an old girlfriend, and spends some time homeless, ranting at strangers, and meeting characters in plights very much like his own.
Directed By: Mike Leigh
Written By: Mike Leigh
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 21 Critic Reviews
85
95% Positive
20 Reviews
20 Reviews
5% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 21 Critic Reviews
85
95% Positive
20 Reviews
20 Reviews
5% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
This is a movie of virtuoso nihilism and scorn.
even in the notable ranks of Leigh's movie, TV and theater work-an oeuvre embracing high comedy, biting comment and shivering pathos-Naked is extraordinary. In the hands of Leigh and his magnificently gifted, gutsy cast, these days and nights on London's streets burn themselves on our minds.
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 45 User Ratings
8.1
87% Positive
39 Ratings
39 Ratings
11% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
2% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 45 User Ratings
8.1
87% Positive
39 Ratings
39 Ratings
11% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
2% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
Although it doesn't look like it, Naked is a chaotic film. Chaotic not in the sense of disorder, but in the sense of anxiety and suffocation.
David Thewlis is nothing short of spectacular. All the praise for this performance of his is finally understood, while Mike Leigh's direction is so sharp it cuts deep.
Most impressive of all is that it's not about caring or empathizing with the characters. It's just a recreation of a reality, of a time and a place. And even though it was made almost 3 decades ago, the moral rot that it exposes would apply perfectly in any place and in any current era.
What an impressive film.
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A Delightful Philosophic Medley.
"Do you think that the amoeba ever dreamed that It would evolve into the frog? Of course it didn’t. And when that first frog shimmied out of the water and employed its vocal cords in order to attract a mate or to **** a predator; do you think that that frog ever imagined that that incipient croak would evolve into all the languages of the world, into all the literature of the world? Of course it **** didn’t. And just as that froggy could never possibly have conceived of Shakespeare so we can never possibly imagine our destiny".
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Every movie year has one, and now it's Britain's Mike Leigh who's conjured up the professional reviewer's worst nightmare: the picture so original, well-acted and witty that it must be given its ample due - despite being heavy on components guaranteed to bum out all but the most frequent moviegoers. [23 Dec. 1993, p.5D]
Mike Leigh sees a Britain everybody knows exists but would rather not think about, and this is a nightmare journey, at once horrific and funny, through a twilight London of the excluded and the rejected.
You may feel like you need a drink and a shower when you come out of "Naked," but at least you'll know you've been somewhere new.
This is 90-proof, single-malt stuff. You sip it neat and you don't handle heavy machinery afterward. This movie will stay with you long after you've seen it, thanks to Thewlis's performance, Leigh's direction, Andrew Dickson's haunting bass-and-harp soundtrack, cinematographer Dick Pope's indelible images -- and the unalloyed, naked conviction of it all.
Mike Leigh's awesomely overpraised Naked is that one-in-a-hundred mediocre movie that contains a genuinely compelling performance. [4 Mar. 1994, p.L27]
"I used to be a werewolf, but I'm all right ****
Imagine 'A Clockwork Orange', but if Mike Leigh directed it.
David Thewlis performance as Johnny is absolutely mind blowing and pure genius. One of the all time best. A despicable, yet care-free man that uses his intelligence to distracts you from how rotten he truly is.
'Naked' doesn't shy away from presenting it's razor-sharp commentary on assault and ****, but will be hard for some to stomach. The script is fantastic with two stellar performances from Lesley Sharp and Katrin Cartlidge, and Leigh finest work.
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No matter how much work you put into it, Thewlis has a magnetic personality, you'll be drawn unwillingly.
Naked
Leigh is challenging himself. Starting the film with such a heinous act, he is primarily challenging himself rather than setting the tone of what you should prepare yourself of. The writer-director, Mike Leigh has a daunting task then, to keep us engaged and involved in characters that doesn't particularly speak with the common audience. There is very little space for him to wander here and there. The reasoning or justification might come off as a pretentious act. But Leigh is a clever chap. His film isn't obsessed with convincing you to follow or root for, in fact, any of the characters. He just wants you to observe them from a distance. And maybe, that is why at their most vulnerable state only, he decides to show us a close up.
While the rest of the time along with distance, the surrounding or environment too is mapped for us to not fall into them. The film actually deals with plenty of themes, considering the fact that David Thewlis literally goes door to door, knocking some philosophical debates into others. But the endorsement strategy states it to stage the primary physical theme up front. And even though for the most part of the time the conversations are debates, as mentioned, they are often a part of distraction. Look, how there is background score while Thewlis spews his views and how unfinished most of the sentences are.
The real target lies in the physical sequences. The way he walks, behaves, switches back and forth, reserves, embraces and in the end, even releases his emotional issues in an almost panic attack. The writing and execution is, of course, sharp and mature, but it is the performance, the conviction in them, that puts it all over the top and still balanced. Naked has the natural state of the least "normal" routine you could think of, and yet they are humans.
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A movie that feels like the end of the hourglass is here and night will never end.
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Awards
Cannes Film Festival
• 2 Wins & 3 Nominations
New York Film Critics Circle Awards
• 1 Win & 3 Nominations
London Critics Circle Film Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
