Europa Europa Film Festival 2022 Film Review: Naked (4K Restoration)
Images courtesy of Europa Europa 2022.
Mike Leigh’s 1993 film Naked is a pitch-black comedy infused with vicious realism. Right from the get-go, Naked doesn’t flinch away from confronting depictions of sexual violence, beginning with an act involving our main character Johnny (played by David Thewlis of Harry Potter fame). What follows is largely his rantings and ravings, as he seems compelled to tell everyone he meets exactly what’s on his mind, no matter how it’ll make them feel or how much of it is completely and utterly untrue.
Perhaps the biggest achievement is wringing some sympathy out of the audience for a man who we know is beyond just a prick; the fact that a man who is culpable for an awful sex crime is still not the most unlikeable character speaks volumes for how layered our lead character is. Naked thrives in nuances, with the humour often coming from just how petulant Johnny is. He’s an angry man, projecting his own insecurities onto others and doing a lot of proverbial fist-shaking at the world around him. Sometimes it’s depressing to watch someone so spiritually homeless, though quite often there’s a sense of wry glee to just how pissed off he is.
These long-winded monologues about the state of affairs in the world and the supposed impending apocalypse often have the result of breaking down the person he’s speaking to, even getting to a security guard who’s the diametric opposite to his way of thought. Johnny isn’t as impenetrable as he believes, though. In that same scene (the performance a result of a real-life 8 hour improvisational session), we see just how irritated he can be by someone so casually optimistic, almost as if he’s never had a happy thought in his life.
What the film succeeds at that I didn’t quite expect, is how thoroughly entertaining and engaging it remains throughout its 127 minute runtime. Given its reputation, I thought it’d be rather one-note with its kitchen sink drama, but the deeply rich characters and their maniacal tendencies lent to a plot that is truly hard to predict. Coupled with gritty, grainy cinematography that accentuates the dirty English streets and a frantic score (predominantly and ironically featuring a harp, an instrument usually associated with peacefulness), it ends up being an oddly moving experience. I honestly can’t fully put into words the full effect this film has, which, in my opinion, is the mark of a wholly original piece of art.
Naked screened at the Europa Europa Film Festival, running from the 4th-27th of February. For more info check out the festival website here.