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Cleaner (2007) More at IMDb Pro »
55 out of 69 people found the following comment useful :-
Good production spoiled by a weak plot, 18 January 2008
Author: pabloz from Finland
Actually for once I was disappointed after seeing a Renny Harlin movie because I had high hopes for this one. Usually I've known in advance his movies would be bad but "Cleaner" seemed that it might actually be really good for a change. It's not really bad, but it isn't anything great either.
Samuel L. Jackson and Ed Harris did their job very well in the leading roles and Harlin's direction was also good. Eva Mendes' performance wasn't anything to hooray for though. The movie started off well and I thought to myself: "This might be it. The movie that puts Renny back on the top.", but sadly no. The script is just too basic. You've seen different versions of this script on the screen many many times before. The characters and the world they live in might be totally different, but it's still the same generic plot. One thing that bugged me a bit was the musical score which didn't fit in some places at all.
But as far as Harlin's movies go this is one of his better ones. It just needed that original surprise twist in the end that never came. I can't really recommend you go see this in the cinema, but it's worth a rent.
35 out of 53 people found the following comment useful :-
Strong acting, nice filmography.. Just to cover a thin story, 20 March 2008
Author: Lavis Jumal from Helsinki, Finland
As a finnish movie fan, it's always interesting to see a new film from Renny Harlin. Especially when Samuel L. Jackson, one of the most distinctive actors ever, is in it.
Jackson plays a crime scene cleaner, which you think would be what this movie is surrounded on. With all the C.S.I. stuff out there, it might interest some. But the scene where the story starts actually tastes like an idea where to start the story, not a theme for a movie where to excavate.
The plot is an uninspiring one, from the beginning to the end. There are some attempted details and twists to bring some life and excitement to this story. I'm sorry to say they really fail. There is no depth in this movie, and every attempt to create some is exactly that - an attempt.
This is bad cause the acting is pretty and the directing is nice. I can't really understand what the director saw in this script. Maybe the idea of creating something without special effects and exploiting the CSI-thing.
I give this one 6/10. All points going to actors and the director.
The movie is categorized as "Crime / Thriller". If you want anything good (and new) like that I suggest you see "Awake".
23 out of 35 people found the following comment useful :-
Beautiful Photography, Boring Plot and a Poor Ending, 2 April 2008
Author: Ryan Hunter from United States
Cleaner is a surprisingly boring and lackluster movie beautifully photographed. The casting is superb and would seem to be a sure recipe for cinematic success--Samuel L. Jackson, Ed Harris, Eve Mendes and Luis Guzman. The dialog is decent and well acted. The plot is where this movie just completely drops the ball.
The plot begins mildly unbelievably--A crime scene cleaner becomes unwittingly immersed in the cover up of a homicide--and then just snowballs downhill from there into a huge police cover-up (I don't want to "spoil" anything for any potential viewers) with an unbelievable plot twist and then ends in a thoroughly stupid and highly implausible ending.
The upside and downside is this movie is beautifully filmed and with such talent, thought and effort that the cinematography itself keeps you thinking it has to get better and it only gets worse.
I hope Ed Harris got paid a lot of money to do this film! Ed does a great job with the little he has to go with and proves what a great actor he is. Eva Mendes does a poor job playing a recent widow to murdered husband (is she angry/sad/sexy/conspiratorial/or just a gold-digger who married a sugar daddy who just got knocked off?). Luis Guzman does a solid job as usual.
I seem to enjoy the movies where Samuel L. Jackson plays a supporting role or shares the lead rather than being the sole lead e.g. Pulp Fiction, The Negotiator, A Time To Kill, etc... In Cleaner he does a reasonable job with a poor plot until the end where his acting coupled with a bad plot twist left me wondering what I could have done better with the time it took to watch Cleaner.
All in all I wish this cast and DoP would have had a better script. I would recommend that Matt Aldrich stick to acting and give up the script-writing. As I think everything was done well except for the storyline/plot aka the script. I give kudos to Renny Harlin (director) for a job well done.
43 out of 79 people found the following comment useful :-
Strong Cast, Unsurprising Plot, 13 September 2007
Author: cashiersducinemart from Riverview, MI
A few years ago there was an incredible segment on NPR's "This American Life" about a cleaner of crime scenes. Shortly thereafter, Pruitt Taylor Vince played a character that felt indebted to this NPR piece on "C.S.I." ("Swap Meet"). The bringing together of science and death was perfect for the CBS show. I wasn't so sure if such a character could survive a Renny Harlin film.
Pity poor Renny Harlin. It still feels that he's trying to recover from CUTTHROAT ISLAND (1995). His last few films have been lucky to even snag a U.S. theatrical release (MINDHUNTERS wasn't one of these), much less a festival screening. So, that must mean that Harlin is back on top, right? Yes and no.
That CLEANER is playing a film festival is a vote of confidence in the Finnish filmmaker. Yet, CLEANER is a strange choice for a festival program. It's very much a straight-forward thriller along the lines of KISS THE GIRLS or U.S. MARSHALLS. The presence of Samuel L. Jackson, Ed Harris, and Luis Guzman certainly does well to give the film some credibility and solid performances (though Eva Mendes feels completely out of her league). The script by Matthew Aldrich is a solid, albeit fairly predictable, effort and Harlin does a capable workman's job bringing it to life. I won't object to seeing this one again on cable.
6 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Yet Another Twist on Police Corruption, 8 June 2008
Author: gradyharp from United States
CLEANER is somewhat of an enigmatic movie: it starts out as though it is going to be a sassy comedy about a retired cop whose job it is to 'clean up' after homicides (a distinctly messy and repulsive job), turns into a rather grisly crime investigation story, adds a dollop of 'ain't life grand', and finishes as an exposé of police corruption. The story line by Matthew Aldrich is further fragmented by being so full of holes that the audience has to toss credibility overboard in order to make it through, and the method of direction by Renny Harlin can't seem to settle on which style to take. It is all kind of a mess and justifies the straight to DVD move. The saving grace of the film is a cast of stalwart actors who can make even a shaky script palatable.
Tom Cutler (Samuel L. Jackson) is a 'retired' cop who makes his living cleaning up the gory remainders of criminal acts of homicide and other grisly crimes. We learn his wife was murdered some years ago, leaving him as a single father of the bright and charming teenager Rose (Keke Palmer). Cutler happens on an assignment to clean a particularly gruesome homicide scene in the home of one Ann Northcut (Eva Mendes in a nicely understated role) and as the convoluted story develops, Cutler realizes that the crime scene represents a culmination of forces that threaten to uncork a long history of police corruption - a history that involves him and his best friend Eddie Lorenzo (Ed Harris) and the tough Detective Jim Vargas (a terrific Luis Guzmán). How the story ties together and ends is too loose to convey and would ruin the minimal drama present.
Each of the actors, even the minor roles played very well by such artists as Jose Pablo Cantillo and Robert Forster, give it the full court press. But the see-through script and the jumbled camera work and direction prevent this from being a significant film. Grady Harp
6 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Underrated movie., 15 July 2008
Author: azd200 from England
Underrated movie. It starts off with beautiful directing and an interesting story to tell, elements of humor that work well and the obvious great casting.
Now I was able to figure out the ending, that wasn't so much because of the plot but rather down to the casting choice, I don't hold that against the movie though. My biggest problems with the movie were: after the first few scenes all humor disappears, which invalidates the opening scenes; during around the 3rd quarter of the film it loses its cinematography and style and becomes a bit of a made for TV detective movie.
I still think the movie was good and strongly recommend it, just be prepared for the downfalls and it'll be very enjoyable.
2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
It has the potential to be a decent crime thriller, 22 July 2008
Author: Gordon-11 from Hong Kong
This film is a crime scene cleaner who unknowingly participates in a cover-up when he cleans a posh home in a rich neighbourhood.
I think "Cleaner" has the potential to be a decent crime thriller. It has great cinematography, and it creates an atmosphere of suspense and threat throughout the film. The plot is decent and engaging, though vaguely predictable. Keke Palmer is actually convincing as a troubled teenager, I think she has potential to make it big. Eva Mendes, on the other hand, is rather bland and unconvincing.
However, the clean up scenes in the beginning of the film are entirely unnecessary. One scene would have been enough to convey the point, but the gore lasts for over 10 minutes. Maybe the director wants to enhance the scary and uneasy atmosphere, but this is a thriller not a horror film! These scenes distracts the viewers, and could have been cut out.
11 out of 20 people found the following comment useful :-
One of Renny Harlin's best movies in a while., 28 May 2008
Author: Lucien Lessard from Canada
Tom Carver (Samuel L. Jackson) is a former police detective, who turned crime scene cleaner. Which he cleans up the mess of people who committed suicide, accidental deaths or murder. After police are done investigate the crime. When Tom does his next clean-up of someone was murder in a high profile mansion. Then he later finds out that he was unwillingly set-up for a cover up. Which his supposedly last client Ann Norcut (Eva Mendes) is starting to ask questions why Tom was in her house, when no one was home. While his former partner (Ed Harris) tries to help Tom with the problem he's facing and while Tom's daughter Rose (Keke Palmer) is trying to ask her father, why her mother was murder awhile back. While the father and daughter relationship proves to be increasingly difficult, since Tom is never quite there for her.
Directed by Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2:Die Harder, The Covenant, Mindhunters) made an stylish, interesting, sometimes very fascinating film. Harlin's latest film certain matured a lot, after making Hollywood movies they were always Hits or Misses. The visual style of the picture are the highlight. Scott Kaven's (Cabin Fever, the upcoming Paul W.S. Anderson's Death Race) cinematography are also good. The actors in the film gives good performances. The relationship between the father and daughter are one of the best parts in the picture. While the premise of first-time screenwriter Matthew Aldrich is somewhat original but his script could have been more complex.
DVD has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1) transfer and an strong Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. DVD includes an interesting audio commentary by the director, deleted scenes and a digital copy of the movie. This might have came straight to DVD in North America but it came out in Overseas in several European countries. Jackson, who's terrific as usual also worked with director Harlin in the underrated "The Long Kiss Goodnight" and the wildly entertaining "Deep Blue Sea". Which Jackson is also one of the producers of this feature. Luis Gusman appears in a small supporting role is always a hoot in any features he has appeared in. Robert Forster appears in a cameo as well. Fans of film noir will be modestly entertained by the movie. Certainly worth a look. Super 35. (*** ½/*****).
20 out of 39 people found the following comment useful :-
It was O.k, 26 April 2008
Author: n-oikonomoy from Thessaloniki/Greece
I think the movie was alright for a relaxing evening.Good acting,good photography,decent plot,what else do u expect from that kind of films!If you are not a fan of police story-tellings do your self a favor and go see the ''THE NOTEBOOK''.The movie is definitely not the best I've seen and I probably wouldn't have gone seeing it in a movie theater,but that doesn't mean that it was bad.Of course the leading actors save the day,but the movie had the atmosphere and the suspense required.O.k it wasn't THE NEGOTIATOR but somehow these people have to make a living.Yet in the end you have an entertaining movie,perfect for a DVD-evening with pop-corn and refreshments.
Finally a good movie from Renny Harlin, 24 August 2008
Author: azraeliz (azrael@simnet.is) from Reykjavik, Iceland
I had very low expectations for this movie. Renny Harlin hasn't made a decent movie in many years so I expected the usual crap, but i was very surprised. It had good plot, very nice acting and was well made. Samuel L. Jackson plays a retired police officer who has a "Cleaning company". He cleans up murder scenes and other scenes of death. One day he does a job in a mansion and gets trapped in a web of deceit.
The Movie unfolds in a low key, unusual for Renny, which usually has lot of noise and action in his movies :) It has lot of blood though(not surprising given the title...) So basically this movie is a good way to spent hour and half. Hopefully Renny boy is out of the slums....
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