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beeinmybonnet
The other night, mum was up late and zapping, and I joined her out of boredom. I was planning to just be there for a couple of minutes to chat and then go do something else, maybe drawing or something, when mum paused her zapping to watch the trailers at Silver. Not much there, but right before mum resumed her zapping, I caught a glimpse of the programme schedule. They were going to show Naked, then and there, on Swedish television, one hour to midnight.
I didn't catch the first ten minutes or so because I had to wait for mum to leave. I wasn't even sure if it was that Naked they were showing, or if it was a completely different film, but I've read enough about it to know that if it indeed was the right film, it was not something I wanted to watch with my mum. And when I finally was alone with the telly, I switched to Silver as quickly as I could. I only needed to see a split second of bleak and gritty colours, too-close-for-comfort realistic surroundings and a wryly smiling David Thewlis -- looking every bit of the dosser![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
roterhimmel has always accused him of doing -- to know that yes, this was Naked.
Now, I'm not saying I get everything. Hell, I'm not even sure if I got anything. I don't often do, when it's a drama, probably because I miss all those "vibes" and read-between-the-lines communication; most of the time I just sit there with my head cocked to the left and saying, "Well, what he do that for?" I think that was the reason I was able to go to sleep after having watched this film; if I'd really got it, I think I'd probably have had an anxiety attack. Because ho boy, that was dark.
My first impression of Johnny was the shallow, fangirly "Oooh, it's David! Looking good, all rough and rugged! ♥" When that passed, I was hit by what a complete and utter bastard he was. I usually manage to find at least something sympathetic and worth liking about characters, but I was at a serious loss when it came to Johnny. He was rude, abrasive, abusive even, and seemed to have a pathological need to screw others and himself over. I mean, what's to like about a character like that?
At the same time, Johnny is intelligent and thought-provoking, even witty. I found myself snorting with laughter at the most unlikely places during the film.
That line in particular made me choke on my laughter; it was a bit too close for comfort. ("I have no idea what I'm gonna be when I grow up, dad, but one thing I'm sure of: I want to take a doctor's degree in bullshitting.") That was the one part of the film I felt I actually got: Johnny's monologues were rambly, bitter and utterly crackpot, but I could follow them. In the way they were structured, they reminded me of my own ones, only ten times angrier and cleverer. I actually found myself nodding in agreement during his "God's a nasty bastard" speech. I think that was what made me unable to hate him, and merely felt confused and wary of him. (Well, that and the fact that he's played by David Thewlis, naturally. *facepalm*)
Another thing that made me think were the women in the film. On one hand, the portrayal of them felt degrading and borderline misogynous, BUT, that's not entirely fair to say. Just look at all the male characters. The film's actually rather nice to its women, seeing they are only fucked-up and broken as opposed to fucked-up, broken and spiteful, like the men are. I felt especially for Sophie (I think that was her name? The unemployed, black-haired girl, at least.) because she reminded me of an old classmate of mine. Louise, Johnny's ex, actually struck me as a rather strong character. Among the sea of embittered and confused characters, she hadn't completely caved to bitterness; there was still quite a bit of decency in her.
The (rather frequent, actually) sex scenes left me quite cold. I think that was the point. I winced every time the women were mistreated, but I sort of disconnected my brain during those scenes and have repressed my memories of most of them. If you'd ask me, I'd probably only remember the shot of David, with those gorgeous legs and amazing hips of his. (If you're upset, turn fangirl: it helps.)
Well, as you can see from my ramblings here, I probably missed the whole point of the film. But now I've seen it, and I needed to blow off some steam. I think I'm going to watch it again some time in the future, when I might understand it better. Right now I'm still blown away by how creepily immersed David was in his character; I can see why people say this is his best role.
(Remus, where did you go?)
And now for something completely different: my books arrived today! \o/ I'm already on chapter seven of Maurice. ♥
I didn't catch the first ten minutes or so because I had to wait for mum to leave. I wasn't even sure if it was that Naked they were showing, or if it was a completely different film, but I've read enough about it to know that if it indeed was the right film, it was not something I wanted to watch with my mum. And when I finally was alone with the telly, I switched to Silver as quickly as I could. I only needed to see a split second of bleak and gritty colours, too-close-for-comfort realistic surroundings and a wryly smiling David Thewlis -- looking every bit of the dosser
roterhimmel has always accused him of doing -- to know that yes, this was Naked. Now, I'm not saying I get everything. Hell, I'm not even sure if I got anything. I don't often do, when it's a drama, probably because I miss all those "vibes" and read-between-the-lines communication; most of the time I just sit there with my head cocked to the left and saying, "Well, what he do that for?" I think that was the reason I was able to go to sleep after having watched this film; if I'd really got it, I think I'd probably have had an anxiety attack. Because ho boy, that was dark.
My first impression of Johnny was the shallow, fangirly "Oooh, it's David! Looking good, all rough and rugged! ♥" When that passed, I was hit by what a complete and utter bastard he was. I usually manage to find at least something sympathetic and worth liking about characters, but I was at a serious loss when it came to Johnny. He was rude, abrasive, abusive even, and seemed to have a pathological need to screw others and himself over. I mean, what's to like about a character like that?
At the same time, Johnny is intelligent and thought-provoking, even witty. I found myself snorting with laughter at the most unlikely places during the film.
I sent off for one of those linguistic packages, "Talk Shite in a Fortnight." It's all going very well. I haven't quite got the hang of the transitive verbs yet."
-- Johnny (David Thewlis), Naked
That line in particular made me choke on my laughter; it was a bit too close for comfort. ("I have no idea what I'm gonna be when I grow up, dad, but one thing I'm sure of: I want to take a doctor's degree in bullshitting.") That was the one part of the film I felt I actually got: Johnny's monologues were rambly, bitter and utterly crackpot, but I could follow them. In the way they were structured, they reminded me of my own ones, only ten times angrier and cleverer. I actually found myself nodding in agreement during his "God's a nasty bastard" speech. I think that was what made me unable to hate him, and merely felt confused and wary of him. (Well, that and the fact that he's played by David Thewlis, naturally. *facepalm*)
Another thing that made me think were the women in the film. On one hand, the portrayal of them felt degrading and borderline misogynous, BUT, that's not entirely fair to say. Just look at all the male characters. The film's actually rather nice to its women, seeing they are only fucked-up and broken as opposed to fucked-up, broken and spiteful, like the men are. I felt especially for Sophie (I think that was her name? The unemployed, black-haired girl, at least.) because she reminded me of an old classmate of mine. Louise, Johnny's ex, actually struck me as a rather strong character. Among the sea of embittered and confused characters, she hadn't completely caved to bitterness; there was still quite a bit of decency in her.
The (rather frequent, actually) sex scenes left me quite cold. I think that was the point. I winced every time the women were mistreated, but I sort of disconnected my brain during those scenes and have repressed my memories of most of them. If you'd ask me, I'd probably only remember the shot of David, with those gorgeous legs and amazing hips of his. (If you're upset, turn fangirl: it helps.)
Well, as you can see from my ramblings here, I probably missed the whole point of the film. But now I've seen it, and I needed to blow off some steam. I think I'm going to watch it again some time in the future, when I might understand it better. Right now I'm still blown away by how creepily immersed David was in his character; I can see why people say this is his best role.
(Remus, where did you go?)
And now for something completely different: my books arrived today! \o/ I'm already on chapter seven of Maurice. ♥