kobbunb Just overrated. There is nothing more than unconnected aphorisms with the environment or dialogues. Actually, there are more. David Thewlis's perform is really good and things are good in this movie but it's not awesome as much as people say it is. I'd rate it maybe more than 7 but my expectation was so high because of the people who talk about this movie.

chase_g An aimless, pointless, waste of time. Painfully overacted, especially by the nurse, but in general the endless speeches of David Thewlis reveal themselves to not be driving at anything in particular. The movie seems a self conscious attempt to show how much angst they can pack into a painfully slow two hours. If you can keep up with how fast Thewlis is talking you will realize that everything he says is only pseudo-intellectual trite word play. The fascination with rape and the scrawny posh psychopath are never shown to have any meaning, and there is hardly any plot to speak of. All of the female characters are an insult to women everywhere, as they fawn obsessively over a grimy tramp, and go on the occasional emotional tirade. The same melodramatic song is looped constantly. And if they were trying to send a nihilist message the millennial 'end is neigh' delusions only serve to remind us that Johnny is simply a nutter.

Spikeopath Naked is written and directed by Mike Leigh. It stars David Thewlis, Lesley Sharp, Katrin Cartlidge, Greg Cruttwell, Claire Skinner, Peter Wright, Ewen Bremner and Gina McKee. Music is by Andrew Dickinson and cinematography by Dick Pope.Johnny (Thewlis) is an unemployed wastrel who has to flee Manchester after indulging in his sexually violent proclivities. Heading for London to seek out an old girlfriend, Johnny encounters a number of people more hapless and lost than he is.Proles, Plebs and Potheads.Mike Leigh's brutal and raw character study remains as potent today as it was on release in post Thatcher Britain. Sometimes coined as a film for masochists or misogynists, Naked is actually for neither. For sure it isn't setting out to cheer you up, it's relentlessly restless and intense, it doesn't cut corners or operate under a banner of political convenience. Yet it does have intelligent depth to the point where the deeper you dig the more troubling Leigh's observations become. This allows Leigh and his brilliant cast to leave indelible images, to bring out themes that simply refuse to leave the conscious, where the observation of a society filled with sad, lonely and desperate people provides the discomfort of the human form stripped, well, naked.Ever seen a dead body?Only my own…Johnny is an intellectual, an intelligent man, even charming, he can chat freely on the world and man's existence in it. But he has unhealthy appetites and a knack for latching onto emotional discord. Posit this with a backdrop of dirty streets, cheap cafés and grungy flats, and there's a starkness about the narrative that scars the soul, aided considerably by Dickinson's edgy violin based score and Pope's stripped back colour photography. A concurrent character study with that of Johnny is that of Jeremy/Sebastian (Cruttwell), the definition of Yuppiedom gone wrong, the devil with a Filofax who is both cruel and predatory, he's the polar opposite of scruffy Johnny, but both represent a London that's far from the bright lights and big city so many hopeless dreamers set off in search of.A sick boy in search of Booze, Beans and a Bath.The Jeremy/Sebastian axis feels very much like satire, this also is something that makes Naked so strong, it is quite often funny. True, the humour here is clinical and comes in spiked barbs, but there are laughs to be had here, the kind that deftly dovetail with a pervading sense of bleakness, finding wit in the most unlikely of places. What is Leigh trying to say in all this? As usual he isn't offering up solutions to his questions, he demands you observe and respond, while he asks his actors to take the material and respond in kind, which they do, led by a quite extraordinary performance by Thewlis. Cannes agreed, awarding Thewlis with the Best Actor Award whilst also bestowing Leigh with the Best Director Award. Both were richly deserved.Never gratuitous, Naked is a sensitive and thoughtful film, yes it's tough to witness at times, it's meant to be, but this is a searing masterpiece that demands to be seen more than once. 10/10

casper durden The title of Mike Leigh's film "naked" does not describe a physical state but a state of mentality that the characters of the film face. These people have no jobs, no relationships, no families, and barely have an existence in a hyper realistic anarchy- a dark and bitter world created by the brilliant British director: mike Leigh. The film is set in a deeply depressing London. The characters we meet are so desperate and this is a desperate film. The hero is Jonnie, a 27 year old man who struggles to exist in the world he lives in. his desperation is one of the most devastating depictions of devastation I have ever seen on film. We first see him raping a woman and then stealing a car. What a brutal introduction to one of the most brutal relationships of an audience with a main character. The series of events the follow are mesmerizing. Every turn Jonnie takes, he meets a character who faces desperation much like his own. The film's plot progresses to a melting pot of desperate, psychopath and devastating characters. This film is a masterpiece. It features one of the most heartbreaking performances of all time by the brilliant actor: David Thewlis. Another performance I won't ever forget was from Katrin Cartilidge playing the character of Sophie. Her existence on screen is so weak yet so strong, her fragility is fascinating. Mike Leigh creates a world so bitter and sad in order to create cinematic poetry. This film's philosophic takes on life and humanity are so bleak, bold and honest. Hearing these takes is like getting punched in the stomach. This film had such a deep effect on me. I had trouble completing my day. It is nightmarish, bold, dark, devastating and ultimately, masterful.