Mike Leigh has given us another look at bleak characters in England and here we watch a drifter named Johnny (David Thewlis) who in the first scene of the film is having sex in an alley with some woman very brutally to the point where it makes the woman run off shouting at him so Johnny steals a car and drives to a former girlfriends home. She's at work but her roommate Sophie (Katrin Cartlidge) lets him in to wait for her. Sophie takes drugs and drinks and is a punk type that can give the double talk as fast as Johnny can. Johnny and Sophie have sex and later Louise (Lesley Sharp) gets home from work. Johnny stays for some time but then leaves. Film follows Johnny as he meets different characters like a night watchman, a waitress, a Scot with a nervous tic, a drunk woman spotted from a window and a man who pastes posters on walls. Meanwhile Louise and Sophies landlord Jeremy (Greg Crutwell) is a very cruel and brutal man who somehow convinces woman to date him and then later he brutalizes them to the point where you can call it rape. He comes to Louise's home and takes advantage of Sophie to the point where she becomes a shaking mess. He wont leave and the woman are very afraid of him. Leigh once again shows us sad characters who are trying to get through life. This is definitely one of Leigh's tougher films and he always assembles a good cast to make the sordid and downbeat material easier to view. Thewlis is just riveting as Johnnie. A very smart and fast talking man who can dazzle you with his knowledge on an assortment of topics but ultimately he abuses everyone verbally. He seems unable to answer a question clearly and at times in the film I had no idea what he was talking about. How could such a bright man have fallen through the cracks in life? He has one thing in common with Jeremy, they both brutalize woman when they have sex. Obviously they are unable to communicate tenderness and it suggests that something tragic happened to them when they were young. The title "Naked" is a reflection on how these characters are placed in this world. Johnnie uses his intellect and fast talking to try and get through life. Louise has a normal job and tries to convince herself that she is normal. Sophie drinks and takes drugs to keep reality away. The last shot in the film of Johnnie is a haunting image as he stumbles down the street. Some of Leigh's films are an acquired taste and I suspect this one falls into that category. This film is a little overlong but those who invest the time will view some terrific performances headed by Thewlis and a film that offers a dark look at some characters who all have their own way of dealing with the outside world.
Review of Naked
