Cleaner - A Movie Review

You asked me what my job was like. It’s morbid, but it’s a living.

Cleaner was released in 2007. A crime scene cleaner unknowingly cleans a cover-up. During his investigation with the owner of the house, she has no idea what has happened. Determined to get to the bottom of this, Tom hunts down the clues.

You know movies that are about crime scene cleanups don’t gross you out when you eat during the film. I was intrigued to see what this film was about. Cleaner had an engrossing premise but it was not executed in the right format.

Samuel L. Jackson was the right actor for this role. Tom has to clean some very messy places after gruesome incidents. I loved the monologue Jackson recited in the beginning to a group of partygoers about his job. It was cryptic and humorous at the same time. Doing every means necessary to get to the bottom of the case, Tom invests in all the research he finds.

To make up for the lazy storytelling, Cleaner has excellent acting talents. Ed Harris saves his role from the way writers wrote him. This role tested him in a contrasting personality from his usual personality. Jackson and Harris were great in their scenes.

Fans of the Nick show True Jackson V.P. will recognize Keke Palmer. Palmer was astounding in her part recounting a tear-jerking monologue. Jackson and Palmer were excellent together. They studied their dynamic very well making a realistic father and daughter. I’d argue that their scenes are unnecessary but it adds more drama to the film.

Eva Mendes either received poor direction or she had no interest in being in this film. Whatever the reason, Mendes was flat in all of her scenes. She was not convincing.

Cleaner has a few side characters. Every actor created their own quirks no matter how small their part was. The characters drive the film. Other credits include Luis Guzman, Maggie Lawson, Jose Pablo Cantillo, and Robert Forster.

By the end, the film steps away from its cohesive story becoming choppy. I thought this film would be a dark comedy like how it started. That was what drew me in. It dissolves into a crime investigation story that didn’t receive the best attention in the story process.

Nobody’s sure what’s happening. They just go along with it and end scenes without a resolution. The story becomes so predictable that revelations are not a surprise. It lacked tension. And there wasn’t enough action to it.

Other than the flaws in the story, Renny Harlin’s astute direction in cinematography was engrossing. Camera shots prominently caught Tom’s perspective getting into his busy mind. Editing quick frames and close-ups of the perspective, Harlin designated the right atmosphere.

He also records a positive representation of a business many don’t think about. There are a lot of obscure jobs in the world that merit recognition. As identified in the film, a crime scene cleaner not only cleans messes. They’re cleaning up anger and grief. It’s a way to help clients in the grieving process. I never thought about that before.

If you are going to watch Cleaner, know the premise. Anyone who has an aversion to blood or topics of death may not want to watch this film. The film’s concept is an interesting storyline but it was not conducted in the right way.

Cleaner could have been a better film. It loses its steam by the end, but it’s a film that you should check out - especially for Samuel L. Jackson’s performance.