Naked Reviews

To be honest, it has been a while since I have seen this flick and I should definitely check it out again at some point. Anyway, even though Mike Leigh has a really stellar reputation and he is arguably one of the best British directors alive, I have to admit that I’m not always blown away by his movies. There are some exceptions though and this movie is definitely one of those. Indeed, it was with this movie that Leigh finally burst into the international scene and, even though his work would always be rather bleak, here, it was something really pitch black. The most memorable thing about this feature will always be the impressive performance by David Thewlis and it is rather unfortunate that he would be instead always remembered as one of those many British actors that showed up in the Harry Potter franchise as he gave here by far his best performance. Eventually, to really appreciate this movie, it all depends if you can handle Johnny, the main character. Indeed, he must be one of the most despicable and sinister main characters I have ever seen but I thought he was quite fascinating to behold. To conclude, it is pretty much a British classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Mike Leigh’s work.

Most people have turning points in their life, moments where some event changed their perspective and made them different people. Whether it be trauma or success, heartbreak or love, most of us have moments like this. Because I am a socially awkward, late teen who hasn't done anything with his life yet, all of these moments for me have been experienced through movies. The most recent film to utterly destroy my previous perception of reality was the masterpiece "Naked", which stars David Thewlis, or as I knew previously, Professor Lupin. This film is probably the most nihilistic I have seen cinema go, with Thewlis pulling off sharp dialogue. The main character, Jack, is not always right about everything (in fact there's a scene where he talks about how the world is going to end in 1999) but he says everything with such depth and conviction that it's hard not to be effected. In the end, this film left me with a cleansed sort of feeling of emptiness. As far as nihilist art goes, this blows Catcher in the Rye out of the fucking water.

I cannot for the life of me understand all the 5 star reviews. This film comprises a rediculously unbelieveable script populated with unbelieveable, 2-dimensional, cliched characters and executed with heavy, wooden performances. Is this what happens when artistic folk conspire to create "gritty" and "real" drama. The total running time of nearly two and a half hours makes this ham-fisted effort almost unwatchable.

its just johnny ranting - very clever script and excellent use of language structure and arguments for and against most topics - but as a film - slow...

A relentlessly brutal early-nineties odyssey that is so real you can almost smell the stench of London's underbelly in each cell. David Thewlis is amazing as the anti-hero, Johnny. So much so I'll probably see him as this character no matter whom he plays from now on. Johnny's rants are worth the rental fee alone.