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Clean [2004]
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Maggie Cheung really shines in this film
Review date: 2007-06-29 Rating: 8 out of 10
I came across this film the other day and found it rather intriguing. This is pretty much a simple story, a little overlong in places to the point that it does not lose pace or interest in the main characters plight. In here we have Maggie Cheung whom plays Emily Wang, a woman in Hamilton, Ontario, with a past of drug addiction and other life-ruining things. Following a raid, her son gets taken away from her and sent to live with his grandfather Albrecht (Nolte) in Vancouver, B.C. So, Maggie decides to restart her life in Paris. While visiting London, Albrecht takes the grandson to Paris to visit her, and then has to face a moral dilemma about whether or not keeping the boy from his mother is a good idea.
This is a poignant, and sometimes meandering study of one woman's uphill battle to sobriety, "Clean" is one of those movies that sneak up on you with a plot that continually puts the heroine in the flimsy position of not knowing if her own demons will give in to her will to survive or consume her.
Maggie Cheung gives a great performance as well as James Dennis, as her son, who probably has the strongest lines with the rejection to his mother. Nick Nolte performs an experienced nice man that believes in forgiveness, but he, actor, seems to be tired. Maggie is on-screen almost all the time except when scenes switch to London to focus on Albrecht, his mother, and Jay (and their anger towards Emily), and her performance is an absolutely moving tour-de-force. The camera clearly loves focusing on her alabaster face, deep eyes, and her low-pitched voice as she moves effortlessly from British English to Cantonese then to French. I didn't even know she spoke French and she speaks it very well.
During this film the most touching scene was in the Vincennes Zoo with the boy and Emily who manages a heart-to-heart chat that convinces her son she's not why his dad died -- and might deserve to be his full-time mom. Several brief scenes between Nolte and Cheung does show mutual empathy ("I believe in forgiveness," he tells her) by this being said it gives some emotional authenticity to this film.
The inconclusive end makes the optimistic viewer like me believes in a final redemption of Emily, but it is open to different interpretations. If you are a fan of Maggie Cheung, then this movie is for you!
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Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
James Johnston
Maggie Cheung
Nick Nolte
Don McKellar
Tricky
Creators:
Nick Nolte (Primary Contributor)
Maggie Cheung (Primary Contributor)
Director(s):
Recording label: Momentum Pictures
Manufacturer: Momentum Pictures
EAN: 5060116720907
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2006-08-21
Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 110 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2004
Language: English (Subtitles For The Hearing Impaired)
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: French (Original Language)