Naked (1993)★ 7.5/10

...yikes.

This one's been on my radar for quite some time. I've been aware of Mike Leigh since Hard Truths came out last year. In scouring through his filmography, this one stood out to me. A film about a dark brooding man wandering through the streets of London, pondering philosophically about life and women...interesting. Although a little skeptical, the imagery of this film caught my eye. The Cannes recognition didn't hurt either.

I'll be honest, I've been quite lost lately. I needed something the other night to match this feeling, and figured it was time to give this one a shot.....Christ. As much as I love world cinema, I have absolutely HAD IT with the number of arthouse films that centre around an aimless man who just meanders through a city preaching "phiolosophically" like an insufferable high school drama kid and has sex with any woman that passes by him. And....yeah that's this film in a nutshell.

I have a very hard time emotionally resonating with a film if I don't like the main character. Johnny is maybe the most unlikable character I've ever seen in cinema. If he isn't screaming in the streets to strangers about how "the world is ending," h'e's literally raping women. And yet, he isn't even the most disgusting character. Jeremy/Sebastian is an upper class cunt who snickers and sneers through the film like a moustache twirling villain. And when he isn't doing that, he too is literally raping women. And so the film follows these characters wreaking havoc on the people around them. It isn't funny. It isn't entertaining. It isn't deep or intellectually engaging. It's annoying and a slog to sit through.

.....And yet I can't deny there is something to this film. I admire how raw it is. It has an atmosphere to it that I find very intoxicating. Even though I don't like many of the characters, the performances are very well done (except for Greg Cruttwell as Jeremy/Sebastian/whatever the fuck his name is). The film kept me guessing as to where it was going next.

So overall, very complicated feelings about this one. In many ways, this is everything I hate about arthouse cinema rolled into one. On the other hand, I do recognize the talent behind this film. It's just a shame it has the depth of an edgy 16-year-olds journal. I may give it another chance a year or so from now to see how its held up, but this is how I feel for now.

In real life, most would steer clear of someone like Johnny—but on screen, he is irresistibly charismatic.

This world could collapse at any moment, yet people carry on as if they have hope. The charming, knowledgeable, and melancholic protagonist drifts; he understands others but doesn´t seek their understanding. Living simply to exist, or perhaps just waiting to die.

Despair, emptiness, mania, cynicism, the naked feelings of naked humans wandering around the city late at night radiate directly from the images with high intensity to all.

Este mundo pode entrar em colapso a qualquer momento, mas as pessoas continuam como se tivessem esperança. O protagonista encantador, experiente e melancólico vagueia; ele entende os outros, mas não busca ser compreendido por eles. Viver simplesmente para existir, ou talvez apenas esperar para morrer.

Na vida real, a maioria evitaria alguém como Johnny — mas na tela ele é irresistivelmente carismático.

Este mundo podría colapsar en cualquier momento, y aun así la gente seguiría como si tuviera esperanza. El protagonista, encantador, culto y melancólico, deambula; entiende a los demás, pero no busca que lo entiendan. Vive simplemente por existir, o quizá solo espera morir.

En la vida real, la mayoría evitaría a alguien como Johnny, pero en pantalla, es increíblemente magnético.