Nothing quite like a love-in

Never one to ignore a call from a fellow brother-in-arms, I'm moved to contribute to FinalGirl's worthy post about the wave of cynical reactions to her love, our love, of movies. We probably differ in many ways, in taste of movies perhaps (although the championing of little Brit darling Neil Marshall is way up my street, The Descent is one of those gems that most people will never see), maybe we differ in how we watch, talk and think about film but we are united in one thing; a true and wondrous love for film. So in order to celebrate this day (and I wonder if this could be an annual thing from now on) I lay my soul out to bare and praise the joy of cinema.

How to explain my love for film? I feels like my love has been with me since birth but as I delve into my past I can see patterns emerge and one defining moment shouts out louder than any other and that's the night I watched Naked by Mike Leigh on late night tv. This was perhaps around 1994, maybe earlier, I had got into the habit of watching late night film (student's perogative), mostly, if I'm all too honest, in the vain hope of seeing some naughty foriegn sex scenes. So you can probably see why I jumped at the chance to watch something called Naked. Naked! Great! I don't even have to try and work that title out, no hidden meanings or symbolism they've just spelt it out for me. Oh, how little I knew then.

Naked, for those not in the know, is about a bleak a film as you're ever going to see, a defining and damning portrayal of late 20th century Britain and how the strong will always bully and belittle the weak. Focusing on a scattering of morally corrupt, lonely and dejected people, Naked hits you in the guts with its gritty realism, unremitting sourness and it's near apocalyptic images of a wasteland London. There is no one to love or feel emotions for, our protagonist, Johnny (brilliantly played by David Thewlis) has raped someone by the end of the first scene, even the characters on the periphery are so unlikable that you have no one to side with, Johnny is no hero but he's no villain either, he's neither or maybe both. The character of Johnny walks through the streets of London emotionally sucking the life out of everyone he meets, he's rude, cruel, nasty and vicious. God, I love this film.

For those who haven't seen it or for those that have and dismissed it as misogynistic and unpleasant, which some critics did back in the day, all I can say is Naked is the moment I feel in love with film. I'm still not sure what it was about that film, maybe it's the undiluted honesty, the mirroring of societies ills, it's unflinching and unapologetic graphic depictions of a morally bankrupt people, whatever it was it filled me with questions. I've watched the film several times since then and with every viewing more becomes apparent, I understand more about why it awakened that hunger for film in me. For that I have to say I'm totally grateful for being that horny young thing looking for a cheap thrill who ended up watching a British masterpiece.

I've been a fan of Mike Leigh ever since and although we've had several classics since then (Secret and Lies, Topsy-Turvy and Vera Drake) but nothing quite like Naked. So there you have it, that's the reason I love this medium, what about you?