October 11, 2005
I remember seeing the newspaper ads for Mike Leigh's Naked in 1993, back when they were printed alongside the ones for the film I mentioned in my last post, which at the time was very nearly the sole object of my cinematic obsessions. I was just close enough to adolescence for the image of David Thewlis peering out betwixt those two fishnet-stockinged legs to stick in my head in a way it might not have a year or two earlier.
By the time I got into the works of Mike Leigh a few years ago, Naked was largely unavailable in the US, and so it went unseen by me until just the other day, when Criterion's long-awaited DVD release of it arrived in my mailbox. That my expectations had been raised so high for it by so many, especially in recent months, gives me reason to assume that I don't need to mention how absolutely revelatory a work it is, or how watching it was not at all unlike grabbing a live wire and holding on tight for two hours and eleven minutes.
The commentary track, recorded for laserdisc in 1995, features Leigh, Thewlis and the late great Katrin Cartlidge. For some reason, I always imagined Leigh to be a quiet man, with a reserved baritone voice, laden with secrets - so it was with some surprise that I heard this cheerful, garrulous man speaking at length and with full disclosure about the film and his methods. He was a joy to listen to (both in the commentary and in the more recent - and rather humorously bizarre - BBC interview included on the disc). He reminded me of Robert Altman (albeit with an unceasingly pleasant Manchester accent in place of Altman's perpetual California haze).
He of course discussed his process of developing the film with his cast, and the deep structure of their collaboration, and the amount of research and preparation they all undertook. But I think his methodology was most accurately represented in his discussions with Cartridge, as they discussed her character. Leigh would ask her questions about Sophie. These were sincere questions, the answers to which he, as the director, only had an impression of (an impression he, with his camera, shares with the audience). Cartridge answered his questions as if Sophie was a real person whom she knew closely - because, of course, she had known her closely, had known her intimately, and knew precisely what lay behind all those little ticks and sideways glances and nervous pauses the camera could capture but not comprehend. The relationship between actress and director - the tenderness of it, the trust, the give-and-take that creates such a beautiful outcome - was completely clear in these exchanges.
It's something I've noticed in my own projects. I always stare at the actors' faces, asking those same questions, wondering what exactly it is that they're thinking about (hopefully, I'm looking at the characters thinking, and not the actors - both are fascinating, but the former is certainly preferable). This was especially the case in 48 Ribs, where the process was far more of a collaboration with the actors than any of my other films have been. The majority of the film is based on dialogue that I did write, but there's one moment near the end of the film where Matt says one of those lines and Cammi interrupts him, and starts saying things that weren't in the script, that are completely the result of her investment in the character and the situation and that very moment. It was completely real, and at that point, my job as a director changed. I was no longer directing the scene, but merely capturing it, to the best of my abilities; they say acting is all about reacting, and so, in this sense, is directing. I could take responsibility, of course, and say that I had created the context that allowed for that spontaneous development, and there's some truth in that; but whatever I might have facillitated in that moment is a million times less fascinating than what she created. It's a minor moment in the film; it's not the most important scene; but it represents what I'm striving for in my work these days. When I watch that moment, I'm thankful, I'm concerned, and I'm curious. I want to keep looking.
So anyway, back to Naked. The best extra feature, aside from the commentary track, is a short film of Leigh's from 1987 called The Short And Curlies, which also features David Thewlis. It's only fifteen minutes long, but when one is as good a filmmaker as Leigh, there are no time constraints on making a masterpiece, which this short definitely is.
I need to go study for midterms now, and wait for a phone call, and wait for it to start raining again. I'll have a bit more to (narcisistically) post about that short film of mine later on tonight...
Posted by David Lowery at October 11, 2005 03:06 AM
Comments
David, I've never seen Naked, and your comments are getting me all eager about it.
I was wondering about that exchange between Matt and Cammi on the couch, with its interruptions and pauses and back-and-forth, and whether it was intricately scripted or not. Just curious: did Cammi depart from the script during rehearsals or were you actually shooting when she did that?
Posted by: girish Shambu at October 11, 2005 08:34 PM
There was definitely a complete script - but it mutated quite a bit over the course of shooting. A lot of the lines are still there, and all the key points were maintained, but everything shifted around from take to take (and then shifted again as I reconstructed it in editing). Both Matt and Cammi had different versions of the script, and I told them both to not worry about memorizing it but to simply use it get a sense of what needed to occur. So there are a lot of lines from the script, a lot of lines that are mirrored by the script, and then other things like what I mentioned above that were just products of the moment. A lot of the lines from the script ended up on the cutting room floor, too, simply because they were too 'written.'
We actually didn't rehearse at all; we just started shooting. We shot that main scene on the couch about twelve times, from beginning to end.
Posted by: Ghostboy at October 11, 2005 09:36 PM
I adore Naked.
Girish, you should see some of my recent-ish work...
Posted by: Matt at October 11, 2005 10:23 PM
The Short and Curlies is one of my favorite shorts ever (right up there with Alison Maclean's Kitchen Sink of course).
Posted by: Bryan Poyser at October 12, 2005 01:16 AM
Matt, I'd love to. If your quicktime files are still up there come the weekend, I surely will. You know--it's been a month since I got back from Toronto and I've seen just one movie since then! (Wallace & Gromit, which I took my parents to). Returning from sabbatical, it's like I'm learning how to ride that bicycle all over again. But I really look forward to watching your recent work, Matt. And thank you for your words of explanation, David.
Posted by: girish at October 12, 2005 07:11 AM
If only I had more cash...the Criterion Naked DVD has been on my want list for so long...and I'm saving up for RAN next month--finally a Region 1 DVD will get it right!
Posted by: Dave H. at October 12, 2005 01:41 PM