Sunshine Cleaning Review
Posted by Erik Luers on 04.18.2009
C'mon, get happy......
Amy Adams ... Rose Lorkowski
Emily Blunt ... Norah Lorkowski
Alan Arkin ... Joe Lorkowski
Jason Spevack ... Oscar Lorkowski
Steve Zahn ... Mac
Clifton Collins Jr. ... Winston
Eric Christian Olsen ... Randy
I liked director Christine Jeff's Sunshine Cleaning a lot more than I thought I would, and that must undoubtedly count for something. The characters are all very warm and kind, and although the situations they find themselves in are heavy, they always remain optimistic. I really enjoyed that. The lightness of this movie is appreciated; it's a drama that doesn't know it's one. A child gets kicked out of school for licking things, while two adult sisters reminisce about their deceased mother and reluctantly get into the "crime scene clean up" business due to a lack of funds. One of the sisters, Rose (Amy Adams), is the mother of the little boy, and the other, Norah (Emily Blunt), is the jobless aunt. The boy's actions are deemed unhealthy by school officials and thus, he is kicked out of public school. What's a single mother to do? She can't afford private education (she cleans houses), and her father (played by Alan Arkin) proclaims he has more money than he really does. Rose is resilient however, and looks towards a new, high paying career path, one that involves the removal of bodily fluids from a crime scene. I guess it's one of those jobs people just fall into.
Now, Rose's boyfriend (Steve Zahn) is a good Albuquerque detective but a bad lover, as he is already married to another woman (the whole love triangle went to high school together). He recommends this job opportunity to Rose, and she hesitantly takes it on. As you may have already guessed, the two sisters lack of experience provides the viewer with a classic fish out of water scenario, and it does provide some heartfelt laughs. It also answers such nagging questions as to how one exactly cleans blood off bathroom walls. The two girls are very feminine but are not pushovers, as they are determined to get their job done efficiently. They start advertising in local newspapers (really? You can advertise this sort of thing?), and everything starts coming together. Rose will be able to afford private school for her son and real estate classes for herself. The business proves lucrative.
I must report that Sunshine Cleaning is not a groundbreaking film concerned with further elevating the prestige of the twenty-first century cinema, and thank God for that. Yes, some of its plot elements aren't very plausible, but what can you do? The film made me smile quite a bit. The screenplay by Megan Holley is very sincere and inviting, and I wanted to spend more time with these characters; you want to see them succeed and get their strenuous lives back on track. The plot happens to the characters, rather than vice versa.
I think it's rare to be fully invested in characters you see up on the screen, hoping to yourself that everything will work out for them by the end credits. A lot of movies try to achieve this level of participating audience involvement while rarely accomplishing it, and we must applaud Holley for her hard work here. If her screenplay isn't perfect, it's real, and that's commendable enough. For instance, without the plot, Rose and Norah could still exist and be interesting, and I don't believe you can be taught how to write characterizations like that. You either have the knack for it or you don't. The characters are either friends of the writer or strangers.
I mentioned that some of the plot points aren't very plausible or realistic. Let's talk about that for a moment. The girls' mother committed suicide — irony thy name is Sunshine — in their bathtub years ago, leaving the bath water a bright crimson red. You would figure the last thing these girls would ever want to see again are quiet rooms with blood and death in the air, but nope. They take on the job without the fear of being constantly reminded of their mother's tragic death. Wouldn't they find this work a little more daunting due to their previous history and childhood experiences? The issue is brushed away with a throwaway line about how mom wasn't like these other people, leading me to believe that there must be a deeper underlying pain there that neither can express.
When Rose sits outside with an elderly woman whose husband had just taken his life, we feel that memories of her mother (and how her father dealt with the situation) are provoking some internal second thoughts about this career path. It's never verbally discussed though, and it left me wanting further insight. Again, isn't the job just too painful for them to bare? The numerous glimpses into their childhood (via intriguing flashbacks) would seem to imply so.
There is also talk throughout about the mother's big claim to fame: a one line speaking role on a television movie of the week. She was so proud of that career achievement that she told everyone she knew about it. Strangely, neither her husband nor her children seem to know the title of the work. They don't even have a copy of the film laying around on video or anything. If this was such a high point in his wife's life, wouldn't the father have remembered what the film was called? For years, whenever a movie is on television featuring a diner and pie scene, the girls eagerly watch, hoping to catch their mom's glorious moment. They haven't been successful yet and do not even have the VCR set for when they are. I am not giving anything away when I note that yes, the sisters do eventually catch the flick on the tube one night (Rose calls Norah to tell her to turn on channel sixty-five). The moment is supposed to be poignant and crucial, giving a sense of closure for the two longing women, but I didn't really buy it. It's too contrived to hold much weight.
I also question the need for a few of the supporting characters included here. Rose befriends Winston (Clifton Collins, Jr.), a one armed supply shot owner who likes model airplanes and, oh yeah, has a heart of gold. Collins is dedicated and gives a capable performance as an unnecessary character. At least his relationship with Rose remained strictly platonic. And let me not forget the bizarre lesbian character that Norah becomes obsessed with after clearing out the house of the woman's dead mother. Norah makes it her mission to find this daughter and, what? Tell her that her mother died? It takes a very long time for her to get up the courage to do that, and by the time she does it feels like somewhat of an afterthought. Is Norah sexually attracted to this woman as well? I'm not sure if our screenwriter really knows.
The performers are the ones who really make this piece work, and I accepted the lack of story logic in order to fully enjoy them. Amy Adams is bright and bubbly, and seems to enjoy playing a person as complex as Rose. Her character is tired of sleeping with men behind other wives' backs and wants to be accepted by old high school, high class schoolmates. Or does she? Her character really comes full circle by the conclusion of the film, and Adams gives a very accomplished performance. Emily Blunt is also very funny in her "bad girl with a good heart" role, and hopefully she'll get more leading roles in the future. Fingers crossed.
As their father, Alan Arkin provides an interesting variation on his Little Miss Sunshine role, although this time with a wiser touch. If the former performance was outwardly comical, this one is given more quiet, introverted moments. Also, in both films he plays off of skilled young children and proves to have a nice chemistry with both. The film's ensemble is one of the strongest I've seen this year.
Sunshine Cleaning is a nice little film. If the thought of that sickens you, well, there may come a time when you'll need a film like this, small and playful, and with strong values. If some of it feels a little forced, it still goes down easily enough thanks to the excellent four leads (Adams, Arkin, Blunt, and the young Jason Spevack). After all, chicken soup doesn't really sooth the soul. You should like it, but then again, what do I know? Take two of these characters and call me in the morning.
The 411: Sunshine Cleaning is an enjoyable entertainment that holds its head up high. The writing wrings true more times than it does false, and the performances are all first rate. Even though it's not perfect, it's certainly worth checking out, and I enjoyed myself throughout. Hopefully, this smaller film will expand to more theaters in the weeks to come.
