Taglines: When unbalance leads to submission.
Naked movie storyline. After a rough sexual encounter with a married woman in a Manchester alley becomes a rape, Johnny Fletcher steals a car and flees for Dalston, “a scrawny, unpretentious area” in the east of London. He seeks refuge with his former girlfriend, fellow Mancunian Louise. Louise is not happy to see her ex. She works as a file clerk and shares a rental house with two flatmates, Sophie a young party girl, and primary tenant Sandra, a nurse who’s away on vacation.
Johnny immediately seduces Sophie, but soon tires of her and embarks on an extended latter-day odyssey among the destitute and despairing of the United Kingdom’s capital city. During his encounters in London’s seedy underbelly, Johnny expounds his world-view at long and lyrical length to anyone who will listen, whether Archie, a Scottish boy yelling “Maggie!” at the top of his voice he comes across in Brewer Street, or Brian, a security guard planning for his future amidst acres of empty space, whom Johnny marks down as having, ‘the most tedious job in England’.
After pursuing then rejecting a drunken woman, Johnny is tossed out of a sublet by a young cafe worker he’s followed home. He hitches a ride with a man who’s hanging posters around town. The poster man, exasperated by Johnny’s nonstop haranguing, kicks him several times, driving off with Johnny’s only possession, a duffel bag with his clothes and books. Johnny wanders the streets and with no provocation, is severely beaten by an anonymous gang of thugs.
He manages to return to Louise where he confronts Jeremy (aka Sebastian), a pathological sexual predator and Sandra’s landlord, who has let himself into the house. Sophie is desperate to get Jeremy out of the house after a sexual encounter with him turned into rape. She and Louise try to keep Johnny quiet but Jeremy awakens to find Johnny, injured and having a fit.
Naked is a 1993 British black comedy-drama film written and directed by Mike Leigh and starring David Thewlis as Johnny, a motor-mouthed intellectual and conspiracy theorist. Stark and brutal in tone, Naked was a departure for Leigh, whose previous works were known for their subtle comedic dissections of middle-class and working-class manners. Mike Leigh’s Naked screenplay relied heavily on lengthy improvisation during rehearsals, but little actual ad-libbing was filmed. Critically acclaimed,
Awards and Nominations
The film won a number of awards, including best director and best actor at Cannes. Naked marked a new career high for Leigh as a director and made the then-unknown Thewlis an internationally recognized star.
— Cinéfest: Best International Film (1993) (won)
— Cannes Film Festival (1993): Best Director (won)
— Cannes Film Festival (1993): Palme d’Or (nominated)
— Cannes Film Festival: Best Actor – David Thewlis (1993) (won)
— New York Film Critics Circle Awards: Best Actor – David Thewlis (1993)
— Toronto International Film Festival: Metro Media Award (1993) (won)
— Belgian Syndicate of Cinema Critics: Grand Prix (1994) (nominated)
— Evening Standard British Film Awards: Best Actor – David Thewlis (1994)
— London Critics Circle Film Awards ALFS Award: British Actor of the Year – David Thewlis (1994)
— National Society of Film Critics Awards: Best Actor – David Thewlis (1994)
— BAFTA Awards Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film (1994) (nominated)
— Independent Spirit Awards: Best Foreign Film (1994) (nominated)
Naked (1993)
Directed by: Mike Leigh
Starring: David Thewlis, Lesley Sharp, Katrin Cartlidge, Greg Cruttwell, Claire Skinner, Peter Wight, Ewen Bremner, Susan Vidler, Gina McKee, Carolina Giammetta
Screenplay by: Mike Leigh
Production Design by: Alison Chitty
Cinematography by: Dick Pope
Film Editing by: Jon Gregory
Costume Design by: Lindy Hemming
Art Direction by: Eve Stewart
Music by: Andrew Dickson
Distributed by: Fine Line Features
Release Date: November 5, 1993
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