Naked (1993)
David Thewlis is Johnny, one of those pathetic hedonists who lives only for pleasure but is having a hellish time doing so.
After violently raping(?) a woman in a Manchester alley, he flees to London to escape retaliation and looks up his ex-girlfriend. She's not home, but her loopy goth roommate is and she becomes the first victim of Johnny's mile-a-minute talkathon. He's got pithy one-liners, silly puns, existential ramblings, barking put-downs, dismissive asides -- everything you'd ever need in the most annoying guest ever.
Johnny stays for a while, then leaves to roam the London streets and meet colorful characters like a drugged up couple who keep missing each other, a sign-hanger, a lonely security guard, a sad-faced prim waitress, and a broken-down sexpot. He talks and talks and talks and then gets beat up -- I was just surprised it didn't happen earlier and that it didn't come at the hands of someone who just wanted him to shut up already.
It should be obvious that Johnny wouldn't be on my speed dial...but he was only about one-tenth as awful as the other hedonist we see at work. Sebastian is like an upper-class Johnny: he's enamored with himself, takes whatever he desires because no one stops him, and is unbearably cruel. There's no reason for him to wind up in Johnny's universe and the script doesn't seem interested in helping me understand how he does. Maybe he was just there to make us like Johnny comparatively. Like, I hate baked beans -- but next to a plate of feces, they don't look too bad.
This whole thing just felt like a visit from my parents -- I couldn't wait 'til it was over and, once it was, I felt like if I never saw those people again, my life would be a happier place. Some of Johnny's monologues had intermittently interesting pieces, but sifting through the garbage (and accent) to find them was difficult work.
C-
After violently raping(?) a woman in a Manchester alley, he flees to London to escape retaliation and looks up his ex-girlfriend. She's not home, but her loopy goth roommate is and she becomes the first victim of Johnny's mile-a-minute talkathon. He's got pithy one-liners, silly puns, existential ramblings, barking put-downs, dismissive asides -- everything you'd ever need in the most annoying guest ever.
Johnny stays for a while, then leaves to roam the London streets and meet colorful characters like a drugged up couple who keep missing each other, a sign-hanger, a lonely security guard, a sad-faced prim waitress, and a broken-down sexpot. He talks and talks and talks and then gets beat up -- I was just surprised it didn't happen earlier and that it didn't come at the hands of someone who just wanted him to shut up already.
It should be obvious that Johnny wouldn't be on my speed dial...but he was only about one-tenth as awful as the other hedonist we see at work. Sebastian is like an upper-class Johnny: he's enamored with himself, takes whatever he desires because no one stops him, and is unbearably cruel. There's no reason for him to wind up in Johnny's universe and the script doesn't seem interested in helping me understand how he does. Maybe he was just there to make us like Johnny comparatively. Like, I hate baked beans -- but next to a plate of feces, they don't look too bad.
This whole thing just felt like a visit from my parents -- I couldn't wait 'til it was over and, once it was, I felt like if I never saw those people again, my life would be a happier place. Some of Johnny's monologues had intermittently interesting pieces, but sifting through the garbage (and accent) to find them was difficult work.
C-
posted by MeMe | 9:02 PM
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