Naked + The Short and Curlies

Naked marked a breakthrough for both director Mike Leigh and actor David Thewlis; the film was nominated for the Palme d’Or (Leigh’s first film to compete at Cannes) and won Best Director and Best Actor. At the centre of the film is Thewlis’ barnstorming, career-defining performance as Johnny, a drifter who arrives at his ex-girlfriend’s flat in London seeking shelter from the trouble he’s stirred up in Manchester. What follows is a nocturnal odyssey depicting the pitch-black tail end of Thatcher’s Britain.

The Short and Curlies (1987, 18m)
Six years before the release of Naked, David Thewlis starred in Mike Leigh’s short film about the budding romance between a woman and a man who only communicates through jokes.

Showing as part of The Films of Mike Leigh - screening throughout February