Renny Harlin
Cleaner

THE REVIEW

"Cleaner". An interesting work, this one, directed by the American Renny Harlin, but never released in Italy. An ambiguous film that does not follow a defined genre but continuously shifts into different nuances, strongly deviating from the typical metropolitan thrillers of recent years.

A former police officer (Samuel L. Jackson) dedicates himself to cleaning crime scenes until he works in a house where no murder has been reported. The police thus are led to see the figure of the "cleaner" as the perpetrator of the murder, and he in turn will have to prove otherwise.

Starting with the cast, one naturally wonders how a film featuring the aforementioned Jackson, Ed Harris, Eva Mendes, and Robert Forster was not shown in our theaters. Yet, it is not so much because of the actors that this choice seems strange, but more due to the film's own value. Cleaner indeed has the merit of bringing to the big screen a typical problem of recent years: stress caused by work. Life has become more hectic, work more important, and often when returning home in the evening, not even the love of a daughter can lift the stress of a workday. Especially considering that, in this case, the work performed by Tom, the protagonist, is certainly not among the most enjoyable. In many cases, too many, work has become more important than relationships. Young Rose, Tom's daughter, who lost her mother, no longer understands her father's behavior, too caught up in his work commitments.

The underlying themes of the feature film are interesting, but especially current, tied to the new way of understanding life. What does not convince about Harlin's work is the flattening onto a dramatic background that is breathed in halfway through the film and which breaks the tension excellently created in the first few minutes. Furthermore, Cleaner does not fully convince due to a slow and overly "thought-out" pace that allows the viewer to anticipate what will happen.

On the positive side, however, are the performances of the main trio Jackson, Harris, Mendes, and a murky atmosphere that emphasizes the contours of the city in which the events take place. Furthermore, it must be said that Harlin redeems himself from a rather dark period in his career, considering the two previous and horrendous Exorcist: The Beginning and The Covenant.

A film that starts well and loses credibility as it progresses only to recover in the final minutes. A work that could have been but was not.