The most visceral work to emerge from the socially progressive, highly improvisatory film form honed to perfection over the past two decades by independent filmmaker Mike Leigh, Naked is a potent, post-Thatcher portrait of the British angry young man. Part sexual predator, part apostle of some unfocused apocalypse, Naked's protagonist, Johnny (David Thewlis, from Leigh's Life Is Sweet), insinuates himself into the damaged lives of a motley array of Londoners who are seduced by the adrenaline rush of his charms but find themselves worse off for the encounter. Developed through an exhaustive process of improvisation, the film earned an international audience and awards at Cannes for both its lead actor and its director.