January 22, 2008...9:00 pm
Through The Mangle
Harrowing. In this day and age you can see that word quoted from film reviews and lifted directly onto the poster. These days the promise of a harrowing experience can be used to advertise a movie. Entertainment does not have to be entertaining. Art can be art for its own sake. It seems that somewhere, deep down, people like to suffer.
Tonight we were all crowded into Cinema A for a screening of Mike Leigh’s 1993 drama Naked, but more importantly for the Q&A with the man himself that followed. Half of London seemed to be there, and the room took on a sauna atmosphere as a result. And as the film played itself out over a more than two hour long running time, I started to wonder why I was there.
Naked tells of a nightmarish couple of days and nights in London, as seen through the eyes of razor-witted borderline-bastard Johnny. There is rape, violence, callous inhumanity to fellow human beings, and a great deal of philosophising on the nature of existence. The latter is courtesy of Johnny, but he provides a good deal of the other elements as well, making him an anti-hero. It is an incredibly crafted film, there is no doubt about that. The writing is superbly realised and the acting first-class. So the question “why put yourself through it?” should not imply an attack on the film’s quality. It’s more subjective even than that. Not to put too fine a point on it, I suffered through this film.
The world can be a miserable place. Do we have to shine light on the dark spaces? Clearly Mike Leigh is more comfortable with it than I. He does not consider him anywhere near as much of a rapist as I do, and according to Mike many consider him “charming” and he himself considers him “immensely interesting” and “endlessly fascinating” and “inescapably compelling”.
Mike Leigh’s got a lot of spirit. Strangely charming and a little scary. There’s an energy to him that you wouldn’t expect from a fairly short, unassuming man. He’s quite a bit like an actor, putting a strong emphasis on his words. Very sure of himself, as I suppose one would be after more than thirty years in the business. There’s a hint of sarcasm, even a certain lack of patience, which I would have too in these temperatures. His dislike of Hollywood does not take long to make itself known. He asks as many questions as he answers. Sometimes it comes close to an attack. According to him, a director needs to be a “benevolent despot”. I recall not being overly impressed by the LFS’ Chairman at last year’s Graduation Show. That’s all changed now.
“None of these things are black and white,” says Mike. “Johnny is not cynical; he is a frustrated idealist.” Over the course of the film he seduces and discards women, comes dangerously close to forcing himself on them, steals, swears and just generally bares his bloodied teeth at the world around him. No matter how witty his nihilistic observations, it’s not easy spending time in his presence. Add to that a supporting cast of rapists, thugs, drug addicts, futureless losers and a woman, played magnificently by the late Katrin Cartlidge, who has surrendered herself to being a victim, and you’re left feeling in dire need of a shower.
“He holds the burning match in his hand and waits to find out if it will hurt him.”
- Mike Leigh on the character of Johnny.
Johnny ends the film by stealing money, leaving the house while the woman who is hoping to start a new life with him is out, and wandering towards the camera and an uncertain future. Mike Leigh doesn’t know his fate either. He decided on the final moment mostly because he visualised the shot that way. Ah, directors. In all fairness, he’s a writer too. And the ending is undeniably affecting. But this much unpleasantness is tremendously draining on an audience. “In Hollywood,” says Ben Gibson, “you have to be redeemed”. According to Leigh there is change in Johnny, but not according to any simplistic parameters.
I won’t go so far as to say I would have preferred it if Johnny and his lady love stayed together at the end. I love melancholy endings. House Of Sand And Fog has long been in my Top Ten. And a bright future just doesn’t suit Johnny’s character. But I won’t be seeking this film out again anytime soon. In the session Mike Leigh talks about “enjoying” the work, but ironically as an audience member enjoyment was the one thing I was missing.
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