It doesn’t matter how many years have passed, Naked is the kind of film that’s sure to shock you with its wit and violence. There’s no plot, really, but we do follow Johnny (an explosive David Thewlis) as he drifts around London, announcing doomsday prophecies, conspiracy theories, and philosophical observations about the world. The thing is, unlike your usual street weirdo, Johnny is actually intelligent, eloquent, and dangerously charming. His forceful presence has varying effects on people, who are all bruised but undoubtedly affected by him. One of them is a hopeful nightguard, the other is a depressed waitress. He also meets homeless immigrants and a punk. They’re cynical and angry like Johnny (they make up the city’s underbelly after all) but unlike them, Johnny expresses all that he thinks and feels, even if those words just mask the fear and insecurity that’s eating him up inside. Naked angered a lot of people when it first came out in 1993, but its unfiltered portrait of the neglected sectors in Britain is sure to have the same dizzying effect on viewers today.
"Though recognizably a Leigh movie, with its gallery of Brit eccentrics, Naked dwarfs anything the director has done to date, with a resonant, beautifully modulated script that builds to a bleak but basically optimistic portrait of post-'80s Blighty."
— Derek Elley
An unemployed Brit vents his rage on unsuspecting strangers as he embarks on a nocturnal London odyssey.
A drifter from Manchester finds his way to London, where he philosophizes to the fellow displaced, and anyone who’d care to listen.
The violent misogyny, which will have you thinking long and hard about whether the movie promotes this attitude or parodies it (we’re sure it’s the latter, but the gray areas get so under your skin that you have to make a double take).
It’s uncomfortable and frustrating, especially if you’re a woman watching, but it’s also profound and brave and surprisingly timeless.
Cannes
2 wins
BAFTA
1 nomination
Spirit Awards
1 nomination
NYFCC
1 win, 2 nominations
