How to review your favourite film, or even worse, how to review your favourite film when that film is Mike Leigh's Naked?

Naked starts of rough and only gets bleeker. But that's only a small part of what makes this a masterpiece.
First and foremost Naked is abouth David Thewlis' character Johnny, unenmployed both by choice and by circumstance, who personifies the ugly side most commonly shoved under the carpet in favour of the success stories. Yes, we're talking post-Thatcher Britain, but as far as I can tell there's many similairities to present time, and the world Leigh shows us is not limited to a certain era. But it might be limited to big cities.
Johnny is a man who…

Years ago, the first time I saw this, I watched it dozens and dozens of times in a row because I loved it so much. It took me awhile to get over my little Naked addiction. I take that back, not an addiction, but It's an obsession I'll admit.

I think that obsession has returned but can you blame me?

Ok you can blame me, but whether it's the first time or the the 100th time (it's probably the 666th time I've seen this, just a guess) I've always loved this film. I love the philosophy within the rich dialogue. I love how no matter how many times I see this, I still get lost in the dialogue. Always manages…

Naked is the perfect specimen of a film where the sum equals the parts. That may sound easy to do, but I've never seen a film do it better than this one does. When I say that, I don't mean that it's exactly as good as the camera work, the script, the acting, directing and so forth lead to. I mean that every aspect of this film perfectly reflects the character and the world he sees.

The camera work is fairly straightforward and stays pretty much out of the way. It's involved enough to create the sense of motion in the dialogue or pacing of the mind of the character but without ever being distracting. Thewlis, for his part, plays…

A dark, honest, raw and unflinching film about alienation, social relations and existence, and a film that for me hit a perfect mix of hilarious dark humour, existentialistic tones, and unpleasant events. The cinematography looks great with many brilliant shots throughout, the subtle score is powerful, and the direction perfectly naturalistic, but what takes this film to a higher level is the brilliantly well-written, witty and sharp dialogue and the very intriguing and nihilistic character of Johnny (and ofc the performance behind it). I could listen to Johnny all day with his beautiful accent talking about the past present and future, how he's never bored, the existence of God and so on. And what a performance by Thewlis, probably one…

Comedy-drama is one of my favorite genres in any medium because it allows room for a tense, dramatic story to unfold while simultaneously giving respites of humor that allow a more humanistic feeling to overtake the story. Instead of a film being overflown with melodramatic moments of tension and depression, comedic scenes and dialogue allows things to lighten up more frequently than a straight drama would probably allow. The comedy in Mike Leigh's Naked, in particular, is thought out and natural, gently sliding into bits and pieces of the script without feeling forced or like a sudden shift in tone for the film. There's always a dark and brooding atmosphere surrounding these characters and their predicaments, but there's always a…

This movie is so weird tonally but it works so well. The tone is overly drab and  sad, with the long static takes and the darkly whimsical guitar music playing. It explores some dark and heavy shit thematically, like rape, misogyny, depression, the futility of human existence, etc. But the lead Johnny, played by David Thewlis, is so fucking funny with how despicable he is. He just doesn't stop talking with no regard with the things  that's coming out of his mouth, positive or negative. He intentionally goes out of his way to make every single interaction he has as uncomfortable and awkward as possible, preying on the individuals' personal weakness and flaws. But even though he's an absolutely despicable…