In comparison, the lead character of Johnny is like facing a bouncer heading towards your throat at 150km/h. This time around however, David Thewlis the central actor, hooks it out of the ground. There is nothing nice about Johnny - runs away from Manchester to London after raping a woman and afraid of being beaten. He then moves across the capital from person to person - mostly random acquaintances from the streets - in pursuit of nothing. Or possibly something that we are not aware of. Cursing the world, contemplating 'future', devouring books and spewing vitriolic shit - like this for instance, to a woman who spurns his advances: "And I hope that
all your fuckin' children
are born blind, bow-legged,
hare-lipped, homeless hunchbacks" Over 120 minutes long, Naked should be far from being considered as misogynist - but a fantastic film that focuses on the lunatics on the prowl. Much like this one. Welcome to my world, Michael Leigh.
Rating: * * * +
