Naked

If you liked Pi or The Cruise then you should check out Naked. It's an amazing exploration of a man descended into nihilism, who leaves victims of his intellectual bullying (and misogyny) everywhere. No, it's not PC. Yes, it feels so real. Sorry to gush, but I loved this film.

I like American Existential Anti-Heroes. I wasn't really prepared to confront an English Existential Anti-Hero. Wow, what a different take on a similar stimulus.

This film is a monument to gritty realism, without being self-conscious about it. You can taste this movie. But you never feel like it was faked or forced. The camera work and the lighting never get in the way. I usually notice such things, and here it was invisible and completely immersive. David Thewlis throws every bit of his body into this movie. Even the great closing credit scene.

I would be remiss if I didn't point out the fantastic black humor, especially since some people said it wasn't funny! Sophie wails in the most sustained way I have ever seen in drama. And it's hysterical, even as you're hurting with her. The frantic Scottish kid made me rewind again and again. While I agree that the "landlord" character could have been over the top, his reaction to Johnny flailing on the floor made me laugh out loud. The two characters are really barely distinguishable but that one is a dandy and the other has a fondness for the gutter. As the poster-hanger beats the crap out of our anti-hero you can't help but laugh. And then you nod along as Louise tells him he had it coming in her terrific and constant deadpan (with an occasional suggestion of a smile).

As our protagonist points out, in the end, all the books, and all the learning, and all the discussion, still don't help you understand the point of the cruel joke of life. Yes, it's an old dorm-room discussion that freshman are still having for the 1st time. But that doesn't make the question and the questioning any less desperate. It is human to cry out in pain, even when it's self-inflicted. The references to making a choice for self-destruction are throughout the dialogue, but not so much so that they hit you in the head.

Naked is depressing and euphoric at the same time. Yes it's often "awful", but how can you not cheer for someone who loves life and is trying his hardest to fully engage it? And not one character (or question) gets a pat Hollywood ending or moral -- woo-hoo!

This movie is why people can call film a legitimate art form. It provokes thought, it is drama, and it is beautiful. It thrills me.

Someone asked if the dialogue was improvised. According to IFC, Mike Leigh rehearsed with the cast for 11 weeks before writing the script, which then came to only 25 pages.

Without a doubt, Mike Leigh's Naked is one of the most brilliant examples of filmmaking I have ever seen.

David Thewlis is nothing short of genius as the aimless Johnny, a combustible combination of brilliance and depression, who's mere presence in anyone's purview contaminates and destroys with the effectiveness of Round-Up.

Mesmerizing and fast-paced, there is no shortage of excellence in the smaller plots and characters: Greg Cruttwell is spectacular as the pompous, nouveau-riche Jeremy, and the two female leads, Leslie Sharp and Katrin Cartlidge provide well balanced juxtaposition as two very different femmes damaged.

Not for the faint of heart, Naked will test one's own philosophy, and leave you stripped bare.

An unemployed - but intelligent - social misfit goes on the run to London following a back alley rape, but finds The Capital just as desperate and alienating as his native Manchester.

This is one of the hardest films I have ever had to review. Topics such as urban alienation, career-choice unemployment, leeching, homelessness, drug taking and sexual violence would normally send me running for cover; but what we have here is so well constructed and so skilfully acted that it transcends it own headline topics.

This is a classic case of car-wreck film making: You don't praise or celebrate much, yet it is deeply fascinating and even hypnotic. People are tap dancing on the edge of a metaphorical cliff - some are there of there of their own free will.

Director Mike Leigh's semi-improvisational style doesn't always work, but here it really delivers something unique. You feel that you are watching real life even though too much happens in too short a time period for that to be the case.

This is a wandering odyssey film and features a central performance - by David Thewlis - that ranks along the best ever witnessed in cinema. How the Oscar people could have (totally) turned their back on a performance as a good as this puzzles; although the film and actor won prizes in Cannes and New York.

This is the first film I have ever seen that takes on sexual coercion in a head on fashion. People that have put themselves in a chemical or social situation where someone has something over them. The greasy upper crust landlord (Greg Cruttwell) might seem over-the-top to many but I know a few people actually like that!

(For the record his actions would be deemed illegal in real life - if you have seen the film.)

What happens to the on-screen people the day after this film ends? Has anything really changed? For Johnny - our central anti-hero - it will be just another day to duck and dive, avoid all work and wind people up using his extensive back reading.

I hadn't seen any of Leigh's prior work before deciding to settle on Naked as a good starter. From what I'd gathered beforehand, I knew I could expect something that could best be described as "a gritty-feeling movie". In hindsight, I don't think you can describe Naked as being "a gritty-feeling movie". You end up describing gritty-feeling movies as being "like Naked".

That statement is pretty true – Naked is as bleak and unforgiving as they come. There are no good guys or any possible chances for redemption. Whenever a glimmer of hope appears during the film, it's obliterated within mere moments. The characters don't undergo any significant changes throughout the film. The film ends in pretty much the same way it begins, probably doomed to repetition until the end of the world. If you sit down to watch this, all I can say is "be prepared". Know what you're getting into.

Although the unforgettable feel of the film could be attributed to its verité style (filmed on the dodgy side of London with very rough-looking film), it could be better attributed to the protagonist himself. David Thewlis gives what's probably his best performance as Johnny, a man with few strengths and countless flaws. His eloquent monologues are roughly balanced by his harsh treatment of others. Johnny has very little respect for anyone or anything and it shows as he inflicts pain (physical or emotional, it doesn't matter to him) on everybody that crosses his path.

As bad as he is, however, he's oddly sympathetic in a way (especially when compared to a landlord who's as callous and sociopathic as he is, possibly more so). In a way, I could actually relate to Johnny (and not just because I have the same coat). He knows how bad he can be and acts accordingly, only because he doesn't believe in anything else or changing his ways. He just exists from day to day, just like any other human being. That's what makes Johnny so compelling – he really is only human. When karma finally catches up to him late in the film, we aren't glad to see him suffer. Johnny is the best kind of character, full of nuance that will make different people love him and hate him for the same reasons.

Even though Naked depends heavily on Johnny's presence, he is not the be-all and end-all of the film. The supporting characters are exceptional – the stand-out roles being Johnny's ex and her flatmate. Watching them try and deal with the sudden arrival of both Johnny and (later on) the landlord is in itself one very compelling subplot. A runner-up would be the security guard on his graveyard shift who engages in a series of debates with Johnny about time, life, evolution and the inevitable Apocalypse.

Needless to say, Naked was one hell of a film to watch. It makes me wonder exactly how I should rate it, if I should rate it. It's not really one of those movies where you just say "Oh yeah, very good, very moving, 4 stars." You're more likely to watch it and afterwards not say anything, just think about it. Those are the exceptional films, and Naked is definitely that – a dark, pessimistic insight into the mind of a human being who treads the fine line between self-destruction and utter dissatisfaction.

There are precious few movies to which I would give a perfect rating and none so difficult to justify as Naked. Indeed, when I mention the depth of my appreciation for the film most who have seen it tend to reel in horror whilst deriding its unpleasantness...

So how do I justify it? I could witter on about the brilliance of David Thewlis' performance, the excellent support cast, the devastatingly witty dialogue and Leigh's assured direction until the cows came home, but this still wouldn't totally do it. I can't say a lot about the plot because, well, there isn't a great deal of plot to speak of. So what is it?

I'll tell you what it is: it's the honesty of it. The brutal, searing, sickening honesty. Here is a film unafraid to hold a mirror up to the dark, venal, destructive underbelly of our society - a film that portrays relentlessly and unflinchingly a side of our character which we'd prefer to simply sweep under the carpet. It takes everything that is immoral, degenerate and depraved in modern society and smears it all over the screen in a grubby orgy of loathing. It is not simply a movie with teeth but one with rabid, venomous, acid-tipped fangs, tearing and gnashing at our pompous ideas about our own natures.

There are many movies which are fantastically enjoyable and make for a sterling night out with friends and family. This is not one of them. Naked is disturbing, unpleasant, frightening and utterly bleak. It is also quite brilliant.