A cynical and pessimistic Manchester drifter, Johnny (David Thewlis), arrives in London, afflicting his ex-girlfriend and her flatmate with an unsolicited visit. When he isn't having rough sex with the roommate or pestering the night watchman at a sterile, modern office complex, he berates his ex for her bourgeois urban tendencies. Leigh's portrait of a deteriorating world at the end of the twentieth century is an intense drama, which packs an even greater punch due to Thewlis's stunning performance as the bitter Johnny.