"Naked" (1993)

Primate

When I was 18, I have watched «Naked» for the first time and it didn’t impress me much. Back then, I was just not experienced enough. For the last 9 years, I have gained some life experience, and I have decided to give the film the second chance. This time, I have understood more, and we could call «Naked» «A Tale About a Real Asshole».

The world is full of assholes, some of them are quite dangerous and some of them are not. Johnny is also an asshole, but it is supplemented by a huge education. Because of the education, this bum-looking asshole, who is still psychologically a teenager, have a good tongue and ability for short-term seduce. In the beginning of the film, Johnny almost rapes a woman and flees to London in a stolen car.

After hitting London, John breaks into his old girlfriend house, who shares a house in a desolate area of London with two flat mates. Louisa is not too delighted by her ex, but Sophie develops a crush on John. An intruder won’t dodge an ability to sleep with a cute girl, but John doesn’t want to hear anything about serious relationships, so, he walks away to night London.

Reaching night London, Fake Diogenes meets the inhabitants of the city’s gutter: a homeless Scot Archie and his girlfriend; an intelligent night security guard Brian; a lonely poor drinking woman, who is desperate for a lay and other colorful characters. Nevertheless, Johnny still have certain brakes.

Those brakes are made not out of goodness, but of elementary caution. Johnny understands that he could do rough sex, but if he rapes a woman, he won’t escape justice easily. Also, if Johnny would impose himself on a girl and she would kick him out after tiring from his intellectually offending speeches, he would have to go, because police won’t to be too kind to a smelly bum. That is why, he is cruising for helpless victims with low self-esteem.

Despite that, the night London streets are cruised by other Johnnies with Porsche and gold credit cards. Jeremy-Sebastian is Johnny, who is wearing Saville Row-tailored clothes and who is drinking Veuve Cliquot. His good looks enable him to seduce almost every girl and his money enables him to «be himself» and feel the complete impunity.

Who is an asshole? It is a man, who have complete disregard for public morale, politeness, who treats others scornfully and spits on all other rules. Almost every teenager toys with asshole behavior and it is excusable at the age of 15. Nevertheless, after reaching the age of 20, you need to use your brain and learn to live, or pretend to live, by the rules of society. But because of the different circumstances, the certain people, in the best case, are becoming eternal teenagers and others, in the worst cases, are becoming parasites as Johnny and Jeremy.

Such Johnnies and Jeremys are inhabiting every city and everyone, who watched «Naked», will recall an acquaintance with such man. Mike Leigh was able to shoot a film, which would be understood in every country, and David Thewlis was able to pull off the almost impossible – to play without any fake a real-life pseudointellectual asshole.