Naked (1993)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Cassandra M

  
  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,… More
  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.

• Lady D

  
  'Naked' is certainly a performance driven film, with very little storyline and as such is an insight into the main character's (David Thewlis) ways, charms, crimes and philosophys as twisted and as controversial for it's time as it might be.

• Dan S

  
  A dark, disturbing, and almost overbearingly bleak look at a drifter in England who crashes at his ex-girlfriend's flat to escape those that will be after him after he commits a heinous act. Definitely not a film for everybody, but one that is full of energy thanks to David… More
  A dark, disturbing, and almost overbearingly bleak look at a drifter in England who crashes at his ex-girlfriend's flat to escape those that will be after him after he commits a heinous act. Definitely not a film for everybody, but one that is full of energy thanks to David Thewlis's incredibly realistic performance as a man who has no where to go. It's a crime Thewlis wasn't nominated for Best Actor here, he's really amazing in this film. While the paralleling of Thewlis's character with another monstrous one isn't as neatly executed as one would expect, this is still a worthy film that gives you an intense perception of the underbelly of certain English societies. Some of the dialogue is exceptional as well, some of the conversations Thewlis strikes up with the people he meets randomly is actually pretty riveting.

• Stella D

  
  deeply disturbing. is everyone in this film mentally ill? it's horrible and hilarious and very, very angry. the female characters seem uniformly masochistic and troubled but of course they'd have to be to want to associate with johnny and jeremy who so obviously hate… More
  deeply disturbing. is everyone in this film mentally ill? it's horrible and hilarious and very, very angry. the female characters seem uniformly masochistic and troubled but of course they'd have to be to want to associate with johnny and jeremy who so obviously hate women. thewlis' mad philosophizing antihero is brilliant and there is a kind of harsh beauty in this unflinching brutality.

• Anthony L

  
  My favourite Mike Leigh film by a mile. David Thewlis's performance in Naked is easily one of the greatest in the history of cinema, definitely in the top 10 of all time. The script is astonishing, its dark humour is both funny but uncomfortable and the characters are hateful but… More
  My favourite Mike Leigh film by a mile. David Thewlis's performance in Naked is easily one of the greatest in the history of cinema, definitely in the top 10 of all time. The script is astonishing, its dark humour is both funny but uncomfortable and the characters are hateful but likable at the same time. A really underrated, overlooked classic. Highly recommended and in my top 5 favourite films of all time.

• Ken S

  
  A fascinating, touching, funny, horrifying, witty, uncomfortable and brilliant film by Mike Leigh. A tour de force performance by David Thewlis.

• Gordon A

  
  Grim study of modern day existential angst with a career defining performance from Thewlis.

• Tim S

  
  David Thewlis is flawless! I wish I could even think half the shit he says.

• Cindy I

  
  What an intense movie! I had never seen David Thewlis before this, and I immediately wanted to see more of him. A brutal piece of cinema. Scenes still come back to me from time to time, and I only saw it once... in 1995.

• xGary X

  
  More humourous and less grim than a lot of Mike Leigh's work, but it still can be tough going. Thewliss is great, but I'm not sure how it would translate to foreign audiences.

• Steve K

  
  Piercing, vulgar, uncomfortable, and hilarious. An original experience.

• Mike T

  
  Mike Leigh's controversial masterpiece is by turns sardonic, hideous and exhilarating. It is both a scorching social commentary and a character study, but unconventional in both respects. Naked opens on its hero sexually abusing an unknown woman in a dark alley, thereby… More
  Mike Leigh's controversial masterpiece is by turns sardonic, hideous and exhilarating. It is both a scorching social commentary and a character study, but unconventional in both respects. Naked opens on its hero sexually abusing an unknown woman in a dark alley, thereby introducing us to a cold and desperate landscape unlike anything we are likely to have seen. While retaining a sense of irony and humor, it is underlined by an ominous musical score and depictions of brutal sexual violence. All the acting is good, but David Thewlis makes this movie his own. With his portrayal of this picture's anti-hero, he gives us one of the most astonishing modern screen performances. His acting never misses a mark, and it is his character interpretation that keeps viewers engaged, even when we want to turn away. To dismiss Naked because it's hard to watch is an injustice. This is a great film.

• Stephen E

  
  The committed performance from David Thewlis is easily the best thing about "Naked." He holds literally nothing back, absorbed in his washed-up character and spewing a thousand lines per minute from his hateful mouth. This is acting at its utmost finest and I doubt that… More
  The committed performance from David Thewlis is easily the best thing about "Naked." He holds literally nothing back, absorbed in his washed-up character and spewing a thousand lines per minute from his hateful mouth. This is acting at its utmost finest and I doubt that you'll find a more underrated performance or film.

• Brian R

  
  A landmark picture by Mike Leigh. This film is so good, so dark , so truthful, so real, so engaging. The performances are so well cast that they appear as real people with real problems. I really liked David Thewlis character a drifter who is very intellegent and is also humourous and… More
  A landmark picture by Mike Leigh. This film is so good, so dark , so truthful, so real, so engaging. The performances are so well cast that they appear as real people with real problems. I really liked David Thewlis character a drifter who is very intellegent and is also humourous and sarcastic. Mike Leigh is a powerful gifted filmmaker.

• Ed Fucking H

  
  This film really was brilliant. Excellent acting, camera work, score and so on and so forth. A character study of a truly despicable, nihilistic bastard, who by the end you will sympathize with regardless of his oppressivly bleak and misanthropic demeanor.All that aside the film is… More
  This film really was brilliant. Excellent acting, camera work, score and so on and so forth. A character study of a truly despicable, nihilistic bastard, who by the end you will sympathize with regardless of his oppressivly bleak and misanthropic demeanor.All that aside the film is also frequently darkly humourous, and an all around engaging and rewarding expeirience, Strongly recommended.

• Emily B

  
  Mike Leigh's best in my opinion. A remarkable performance by David Thewlis, with an exceptional supporting cast. The script is dark and witty providing small moments of humour in an otherwise incredibly bleak film. Simply brillaint!

• MJS M

  
  Yeesh! This is one depressing movie. It?s a film about horrible miserable and their horrible miserable lives shown in full unflinching realism. I?m not a huge fan of the film?s structure, the main character basically goes from person to person, rants at them, then leaves. All that… More
  Yeesh! This is one depressing movie. It?s a film about horrible miserable and their horrible miserable lives shown in full unflinching realism. I?m not a huge fan of the film?s structure, the main character basically goes from person to person, rants at them, then leaves. All that is juxtaposed with the misadventures of his friends back at an apartment complex. All the acting here is excellent, and some of the guy?s ranting is very well written. I can admire the film, but Jesus Christ is it hard to watch. These people need to go outside and pick some flowers or something.

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