Naked
classified 18Please note: This was screened in Dec 2021
Mike Leigh’s portrait of male angst and social dislocation (newly remastered by the BFI National Archive) features a truly unforgettable performance from David Thewlis as a morally questionable force-of-nature.
Johnny (Thewlis) is a frenetic and destructive outsider who tears through the lives of others like an emotional tornado. On the run from Manchester, he seeks sanctuary with his ex-girlfriend Louise (Lesley Sharp) in London, where he immediately targets her vulnerable housemate Sophie (Katrin Cartlidge) with his unique blend of predatory charm. From there he embarks on a nocturnal odyssey across the city, dragging other disaffected souls into his orbit as he spirals towards his own personal apocalypse.
Mike Leigh’s 1993 Cannes-storming film (it picked up Best Director and Best Actor) is a masterly, controversial, and totally unforgettable exploration of society morally adrift in the aftermath of Thatcher’s Britain.