Cleaner (2007)

Better than CSI

I, for one, really liked this movie. Acting was believable and so was the plot. My only complaint was that at the very end there was a piece of another movie (? Youth without Youth???) wedged in... I feel cheated, but I still liked the movie a lot! July 14, 2008

Almost Noir But Not Quite There

The Cleaner looked intriguing - this film noir meets thriller piece with Samuel Jackson as the ex-cop cleaner turned gumshoe is exquisitely shot and grabbed me from the first frame. The novelty of the film which is never fully capitalized is its CSI turned inside out treatment. Where CSI's characters just nail their cases - this world is filled with morally ambiguous people that are troubled by their decisions.

As the film unfolded, I was surprised to learn that it was helmed by Renny Harlin (admittedly not one of my favourite directors) who, unlike his Die Hard days, exercises some artistic restraint in his treatment. The cinematography and crisp images captivate you as you almost recall Angel Heart and Mickey Rourke losing his mind - but then the film descends into a beat-by-beat whodunit rather than a psychological thriller. Instead of feeling in danger as we should, we become less intrigued as Renny connects the dots.

Cleaner starts magnificently but like so many Hollywood films, never escalates the potential and emotions of the characters or the plot. There's a layer missing here, making Cleaner one of those could-have-beens. Samuel Jackson remains peerless and the real reason to watch this. The overall cast is pretty good, but Renny, if you're going to do Noir, make it darker!

PS - Samuel's relationship with Keke Palmer - his screen daughter in the film is great and worth watching... July 13, 2008

The Cleaner does a surprisingly Clean job... but

The Cleaner, like some other Samuel Jackson movies, comes packed with his powerful depiction, this time of an ex-police office (seems like picking up where the "The Negotiator" left off).

The premise is really nice, though not surprising. The moment I found out what job Jackson does, it was easy to guess how the plot could go. There are some dead give-aways, but then you probably already know that. In which case, you might also know that the movie does have some really enjoyable plot twists, and tight screenplay. The plot is simple (I could guess the whodunit aspect quite early in the movie - though not the motive!), but the performance of two great actors - Jackson and Harris make the movie a treat to watch.

I especially liked the background score of the movie, as IMO, it accentuated the mood of some of the shots depicting the Cleaner at work, as well as when he realizes he has a lot at stake to risk loosing it all.

What's missing (?), you might ask. Well, for starters, a plot that in addition to being so taught and well scripted, an actual original idea for a murder mystery would have been nice. Secondly, I concede that Jackson is capable of a lot more than what the movie has extracted out of him as an actor. He has done a wonderful job, but there are spots in the storyline where one could have imagined his character behave differently. I like him not just for his acting but also his dialogue (delivery), and I was left wanting more in that department. But then, that's just my opinion.

All in all, I would give this movie a 3.5 out of 5.
Definitely above average, and probably worth an Academy nomination. June 27, 2008

Acting superb, story a little shaky with loose ending

This was a really good movie! I'd never heard of it before. But it kept us riveted to the tv for its entirety. The suspense was good, the story played out well, the acting was top-notch. My only complaint is the plotline of the mystery itself was a little fragmented and a tiny bit confusing. The ending was a nice twist, a bit predictable in part, but still good. However, there was also confusion about Ann Norcut's involvement, was she or wasn't she manipulating the murderer? Did she or didn't she know of the murder at the time it occurred? Was she truly surprised when Carver showed up at her house? Was she "playing" him right along with the murderer? She seemed so innocent, even at the end that we were left a bit mystified. But Jackson was excellent as Carver, Ed Harris gritty & emotional as his ex-partner, the actors who played Vargas & Carver's ex-con worker were SUPER, everybody was really good in this. I really liked the movie, but can't rate it up there with a "mystic river" type film due to the shaky plot/direction not making the story clear. June 25, 2008

An entertaining yet predictable crime thriller

The premise of Cleaner centers around an ex police officer, Tom Carver [ Samuel L Jackson] who quit the profession due to some messy business having to do with a criminal dying in prison under suspicious circumstances. Tom is a widowed, single dad to a teenage daughter Rose [Keke Palmer] who is intelligent and spirited. Tom finds it harder each day to deal with his daughter's questions regarding her deceased mom and the circumstances surrounding her death. His job as a 'cleaner of crime scenes' seems to go along well until a fateful day when he gets called in to clean-up a homicide scene and finds that he was set-up - the crime he cleans up after was never reported to the police, and he in fact inadvertently acted as an accessory to cover it up. Soon, Tom finds himself the prime suspect in the case- and there are a bunch of crooked cops after him.

He turns in desperation to his ex-partner, Eddie Lorenzo [Ed Harris in a wasted role] who seems helpful enough yet resentful of Tom's cutting him out of Tom's and Rose's [Eddie is Rose's godfather] lives. Then there is Mrs Norcut [Eva Mendes in a subtle yet effective performance] whose house was the one Tom 'cleaned' and whose husband is missing. Is Mr Norcut the victim of foul play and if so, who is the party responsible? Things get messy and confusing and Tom finds himself being besieged by all sides, whilst he tries to figure everything out.

The movie certainly has an interesting idea yet suffers from poor execution. It is only saved by the performances of a good cast - from Samuel L Jackson's Tom Carver, to Eva Mendes's Mrs Norcut, and even credible acting by those performing in the minor roles such as Rose [Keke Palmer], Det Vargas [Luis Guzman] and Tom's assistant. Ed Harris offers a lacklustre performance here - and his role is wasted. Also, the movie suffers from an incredulous plotline halfway through, and we can see some of the twists from miles away.

It's not a bad movie, just lacking some spiciness. Final verdict: an average crime thriller.

June 23, 2008

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