On the podcast, we discuss the recent BFI restoration of Mike Leigh’s 1993 classic Naked, starring David Thewlis. We also discuss our favourite Mike Leigh films. Podcast hosts Alex Heeney and Orla Smith are joined by regular guest Lindsay Pugh.
This episode features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executive Editor Orla Smith, and Contributing Editor Lindsay Pugh.
Naked (Mike Leigh, 1993)
Naked opens in an alley in Manchester where Johnny (David Thewlis) is having seemingly consensual sex with a woman, which seems to become nonconsensual at some point. He runs into his house, grabs his bag, steals a car, and begins a long drive to London. We soon learn it’s to see his ex-girlfriend Louise (Lesley Sharp), who recently sent him a postcard with her address in London. Instead of talking to Louise, the one thing he wants to do, he decides to passive aggressively have sex with her roommate (Katrin Cartlidge) before disappearing for a few days into a kind of nightmarish world of London.
Along the way, he meets a Scottish man (Ewen Bremner) looking for his girlfriend, a security guard who spends his shifts reading, and a couple of women, before ending up back at Louise’s place. Will he get his act together or will he keep going further into the self-destructive path he’s on?
The 4K restoration is on VOD in the UK, but has yet to roll out to North America. It is also available on Region B Blu-Ray. The non-restored version is also streaming on The Criterion Channel, although we really recommend seeing the restoration if possible.
On this episode:
- Peterloo in Process: A Mike Leigh collaboration (2:21)
- Related episodes (9:06)
- Our favourite Mike Leigh films (14:52)
- Naked (21:57)
- David Thewlis (29:15)
- Why do we like this film? (35:44)
- Why this title? (1:02:26)
- London (1:06:29)
- Is there a parallel to Naked with a female lead? (1:15:58)
- The film’s great performances (1:20:33)
- Conclusion (1:27:04)
Show notes on the podcast on Mike Leigh’s Naked
- Purchase our ebook Peterloo in Process: A Mike Leigh collaboration. The book includes interviews with Mike Leigh himself, cinematographer Dick Pope, editor Jon Gregory, costume designer Jacqueline Durran, production designer Suzie Davies, make-up designer Christine Blundell, as well as actors Rory Kinnear and Maxine Peake.
- Read Alex’s interview with Josh O’Connor where he cites Thewlis as an inspiring “kind of weird looking guy”
- Follow David Thewlis on Instagram
Related Episodes to Mike Leigh’s Naked
- Ep. 117: The North Water
- Ep. 107: Are men OK? Masculinity, mental health, & addiction in Another Round and Oslo, August 31st
- Ep. 52: First Cow and Wendy and Lucy
- Ep. 36: Abortion on screen and Never Rarely Sometimes Always (Members Only)
- Ep. 32: Sorry We Missed You and Peterloo (Members Only)
- Ep. 11: Mike Leigh’s Peterloo
