By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.75 cats
Director: Olivier Assayas
Starring: Beatrice Dalle | Don McKellar | Maggie Cheung | Martha Henry | Nick Nolte
Country: canada, france, united_kingdom
Year: 2006
Running time: 111
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0388838/reference
Michael says: “In CLEAN, Olivier Assayas (DEMONLOVER) reunites with his IRMA VEP star (and ex-wife) Maggie Cheung, to paint a portrait of a young woman trying to kick a drug addiction, and find her place in the world. When Lee, a failing rock star, dies from a drug overdose, his wife, Emily finds herself faced with six months of prison time and nowhere to go once released. Her son is in the hands of her in-laws (played by Nick Nolte and Martha Henry), her money has gone to pay her court bills and her husband’s debts, and her home in London has been sold. She wanders from Toronto, to Paris, trying to straighten out her life, kick her drug habit, and find a job so that she can prove to her father-in-law (and herself) that she is capable of raising her son. While the plot sounds fairly melodramatic, Assayas keeps things low-key with brief moments of powerful emotion. This works to the film’s benefit; Cheung shines in her bravura performance. Don McKellar has a brief but memorable role as Lee’s agent, who detests Emily and blames her for Lee’s self-destructive behavior. One of my favorites of the festival. 5 cats”
Chris says: “I have a problem with films that morally judge and punish their characters for their addictions—it’s partially what makes REQUIEM FOR A DREAM unwatchable for me. Fortunately, CLEAN doesn’t so much reprimand its antagonist, Emily (Maggie Cheung), for her heroin addiction as much as it honestly lays out on the table the inevitable consequences of such a lifestyle.
“When a tragedy involving her aging-rocker lover, Lee, radically alters Emily’s life early in the film, what follows isn’t so much an inspirational, movie-of-the-week tale of recovery against all odds, but a more realistic chain of events: one of redemption, but also self-actualization. Her obvious goal is to see her estranged young son, Jay, who is in the care of Lee’s parents. She knows the only realistic way to accomplish this is in sobriety, yet her attempts to reach this goal aren’t implausible or clichéd.
“Split between the glowing, meditative oil refineries of Hamilton, Ontario and the cosmopolitan, claustrophobic streets of Paris, CLEAN also uses the music industry as a backdrop. As it delves into grand themes of death and rebirth, it also sheds light on the inner workings of that industry, which prove to be both a boon and a curse to Emily’s struggle.
“Naturally, Cheung is magnificent and Nick Nolte also turns in a strong performance as Lee’s father. The relationship that develops between Emily and him is touching and unsentimental. Beatrice Dalle and Don McKellar also show up in fine upporting roles. In fact, given a week to absorb this film, I’d go as far to say that it’s absolutely flawless—I really can’t think of a single complaint. With the right support from its distributor, this very well could be director Olivier Assayas’ commercial breakthrough—it’s undoubtedly an artistic one. 5 cats”
Bruce says: “After waiting almost two years since Maggie Cheung won best actress at Cannes for her performance in CLEAN, seeing the film was akin to looking at yesterday’s news. While there is a lot to like about the film, I must say that I was less enamored with Maggie Cheung’s performance than the jurors at Cannes. This feeling has much to do with my seeing two other films about the struggle of shaking a drug habit, Zhang Yang’s QUITTING and Rowan Woods’ LITTLE FISH. For me the ecovering addicts in those films, Cate Blanchett and Jia Hongshen, were more convincing than Ms. Cheung. Saying that is not a jab at Cheung’s acting ability as much as it is a comment on how the roles were written, the characters developed.
“Maggie Cheung plays Emily Wang, a second rate singer whose rock star husband, Lee (James Johnston), dies of a drug overdose. Lee and Emily had been living off futile dreams, a dead end existence. They ignored the fact that drugs had anything to do with their professional ups and downs. Emily had purchased the fatal drugs and had left her husband alone in a fit of pique after an argument during which they blamed each other for their lack of success. For her part in Lee’s death, Maggie serves a six month prison sentence.
“CLEAN is the story of Emily’s struggle to reconstruct her life and stay clean. Lee’s parents Albrecht and Rosemary (Nick Nolte and Martha Henry) have custody of Emily and Lee’s son Jay. Emily wants him back but knows she cannot care for him properly until she is more settled. She decides to start over in Paris where she had once lived, a good and bad choice since she must face her old demons as she seeks to rekindle her old support system.
“Assayas uses some wonderful touches that elevate the film way above being just another drug struggle. Albrecht brings Jay to Paris to meet his mother who he does not know because they were separated when he was an infant. Minutes after mother and son meet, Emily drives off on a scooter with Jay sitting behind, arms tightly around her for security. It is a subtle yet forceful bonding experience.
“Emily visits Irene, a former lover who is now a media mogul, a woman who just might be able to rekindle Emily’s career. As Emily waits for her appointment, the administrative assistant reveals to Emily that Emily was her idol on cable TV when she was a teen. This is a pivotal moment for the viewer, a subtle introduction to Emily’s past, her former relationships and the status she once had.
“Intent on getting the right people in the industry to hear a demo she cut in prison, Emily gives the disc to another old friend who multitasks, listening to her music while shooting a game of pool. In CLEAN there are no manufactured moments where an industry exec focuses totally on the music as the audience anxiously waits for a proclamation. This, after all, is the way things happen in the real world.
“Whenever the music industry is the backdrop for a film’s plot, there is a promise of compelling music on the soundtrack. Not so with CLEAN; the music is dreary. For this decidedly good film, it is difficult for me to drum up the appropriate enthusiasm in the shadows of its disappointments. 4 cats”