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Naked
	; Criterion Collection DVD cover for Naked
Directed by	Mike Leigh
Produced by	Simon Channing-Williams
Written by	Mike Leigh
Starring	David Thewlis; Lesley Sharp; Katrin Cartlidge
Music by	Andrew Dickson
Cinematography	Dick Pope
Editing by	Jon Gregory
Distributed by	Fine Line Features
Release date(s)	1993
Running time	131 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Gross revenue	$1,769,305 (USA)

For other uses of naked(ness), see Naked (disambiguation)

Naked is a 1993 British film directed by Mike Leigh. Before this film, Leigh was known for more-low-key, subtler comedic dissections of middle-class and working-class manners. Naked was more stark and brutal than his previous works. Leigh relied heavily on improvisation in the making of the movie, but little actual ad-libbing was filmed; lengthy rehearsals in character provided much of the script. Almost all of the dialogue was filmed as written.

[edit] Plot

After a sexual encounter with a married woman in an alley in Manchester turns sour, Johnny (David Thewlis) steals a car and flees his hometown for London to seek refuge with his former girlfriend, Louise (Lesley Sharp).

An intelligent, educated and eloquent man, and a deeply embittered one as well, Johnny consistently keeps up with a reckless and at times borderline sadistic behaviour; he seduces Louise's flatmate, Sophie (Katrin Cartlidge), before embarking on an extended latter-day odyssey among the destitute and despairing of the United Kingdom's capital city.

During his encounters in London's seedy underbelly, Johnny expounds his world-view (which in different instances seems to be fatalist, nihilist or transhumanist) at long and lyrical length to anyone who will listen, whilst the sinister presence of his ex-girlfriend's psychopathic landlord, Jeremy (Greg Cruttwell), lurks in the background. Johnny eventually suffers horribly at the hands of thugs in the most casual manner; and, when the primary tennant of the flat (Claire Skinner) returns from a trip overseas, Johnny is compelled to leave, to throw himself back into the world as he has ostensibly done so many times before.

It is subtly hinted at, throughout the movie, that Johnny's unusual personality and behavior could be the result of a variety of (presumably undiagnosed and untreated) medical conditions, including manic depression, and whatever it is that causes him to experience episodic, severe headaches. These conditions are certainly affecting him physically; one of the characters he meets thinks he's about 40 years old, when he's actually only 27.

[edit] Main cast

David Thewlis as Johnny
Lesley Sharp as Louise Clancy
Katrin Cartlidge as Sophie
Greg Cruttwell as Jeremy G. Smart, also known as Sebastian Hawk
Claire Skinner as Sandra the Nurse
Ewen Bremner as Archie the Scotsman with a tic

[edit] Awards and nominations

Cinéfest: Best International Film (1993) (won)
Cannes Film Festival (1993): Best Director (won)^[1]
Cannes Film Festival (1993): Palme d'Or (nominated)^[1]
Cannes Film Festival: Best Actor - David Thewlis (1993) (won)^[1]
New York Film Critics Circle Awards: Best Actor - David Thewlis (1993)
Toronto International Film Festival: Metro Media Award (1993) (won)
Evening Standard British Film Awards: Best Actor - David Thewlis (1994)
London Critics Circle Film Awards ALFS Award: British Actor of the Year - David Thewlis (1994)
National Society of Film Critics Awards: Best Actor - David Thewlis (1994)
BAFTA Awards Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film (1994) (nominated)
Independent Spirit Awards: Best Foreign Film (1994) (nominated)

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Festival de Cannes: Naked". festival-cannes.com. http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/2574/year/1993.html. Retrieved 2009-08-22.

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Naked (film)

[edit] Further reading

Ali Catterall and Simon Wells, Your Face Here: British Cult Movies Since The Sixties (Fourth Estate, 2001) ISBN 0-00-714554-3

[festival-cannes.com-0] "Festival de Cannes: Naked". festival-cannes.com. http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/2574/year/1993.html. Retrieved 2009-08-22.

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