Naked (1993)

Director:

Mike Leigh

Writer:

Mike Leigh (writer)

Release Date:

February 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Plot:

Johnny flees Manchester for London, to avoid a beating from the family of a girl he has raped. There he finds an old girlfriend...

Plot Keywords:

Mental Breakdown | Insult | Night Watchman | Existentialist | Rough Sex

Awards:

8 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

David Thewlis	...	Johnny
Lesley Sharp	...	Louise Clancy
Katrin Cartlidge	...	Sophie
Greg Cruttwell	...	Jeremy G. Smart
Claire Skinner	...	Sandra
Peter Wight	...	Brian
Ewen Bremner	...	Archie
Susan Vidler	...	Maggie
Deborah MacLaren	...	Woman in Window
Gina McKee	...	Cafe Girl
Carolina Giammetta	...	Masseuse
Elizabeth Berrington	...	Giselle
Darren Tunstall	...	Poster Man
Robert Putt	...	Chauffeur
Lynda Rooke	...	Victim

Also Known As:

Mike Leigh's Naked

Runtime:

131 min | South Korea:112 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Singapore:R21 | Iceland:16 | South Korea:18 (cut) | Australia:R | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:Unrated | Canada:R (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Thin Man Films

Trivia:

The script was largely created by improvisation during 11 weeks of rehearsal before shooting. The script was only 25 pages long.

Quotes:

[last lines]
Sandra: What is your problem?
Johnny: What's *your* problem?
Sandra: All these silly questions and...
Johnny: Well look - I've never met a nurse before and I'm just interested in, uh, well in life. I mean, do you think it's worth saving?
Sandra: Of course I do. But there is a time and a place and actually this isn't the time or...
Johnny: The place?
Sandra: No. And this is where I...
Johnny: Live?
Sandra: Yes, and I'm not feeling very...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in A Personal History of British Cinema by Stephen Frears (1997) (TV)

An existential nightmare

Not an easy watch, for two reasons: first, this is an uncosmeticized view of 90's England, with little light in the dark; and second, much of the dialogue is difficult for non-Brits to follow. It's easy to spot this is a Mike Leigh film: the gritty realism, working-class characters and improvisation; but it's certainly harder-hitting than the likes of 'Secrets and Lies' or 'Life is Sweet'. But I prefer it to those other films because they suffer from overstylized characterization. What made this one of the best (and most critically-acclaimed) films of the 90s was David Thewlis's bravura performance as Johnny. Johnny is the plot, really. He turns aimless wandering around nocturnal London into an artform, especially the surreal visit with the security guard. Being a fellow northerner, I can see echoes of myself in Johnny, which no doubt adds to the film's appeal for me. But I'd recommend it to any intelligent viewer, not least because of the contrast it throws up between nihilism and nothingarianism.