Cleaner, 2007: Rated R
The blood may be wiped away, but the truth still remains.
Who to look for:
Samuel L. Jackson – Tom Carver, ex-LAPD, current cleaner of crime scenes and congealed blood. Eewww!
(There’s a job you don’t see much in Glass Door.)
Ed Harris – solid. Tom’s former partner.
Eva Mendes – the love interest. If your idea of love is no chemistry across the room, that is. Not a noteworthy performance.
Keke Palmer – Tom’s daughter, Rose. Never heard of her. So cute – I don’t think she’s as striking, now that she’s all grown up. That happens sometimes with kid actors.
Main Plot
Tom Carver was a cop, but we don’t know why he quit. His wife is dead, and he lives with his teenage daughter. An early scene was funny: he goes to a high school reunion, tells a bunch of slightly horrified but rapt fellow schoolmates (around 40 or 45 yo) what he does for a living. Someone mentions aging parents…and suddenly everyone want’s Tom’s business cards!
When one of the deaths he cleans up turns out to be a possible murder, he starts to investigate, and hangs with his old cop buddies. I like buddy pictures, but this wasn’t that. More of a man on a mission.
Lots of blood, and the camera loved it. In fact, I wanted to see more of his actual cleaning. How the heck do you clean blood? From anything??? And body parts?
Father and teenage daughter had the best scenes! The arguments were almost too real. But good.
Good Hollywood production features.
Unanswered questions and Ending:
Why did Tom ignore his partner for years? Not really explained.They both shared secrets.
And I didn’t like the ending. First of all, I didn’t understand who or why. Plus, his partner killed her husband why? And the daughter – uncalled for! He is her godfather!
It didn’t ruin the movie, but it was an anti-climax and kind of dragged.
Other Audience Cleaner Reviews
Google: 78%. It’s hard to get past a weak ending.
IMDB describes: A middle-aged house cleaner gets caught up in a violent crime after being hired. Hm. What baby wrote this blurb?
From Amazon:
(They say it’s unrated. Well, it’s bloody.)
Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2021
NO SPOILERS. LET US BEGIN WITH THE CAST, SAMUEL L. JACKSON AND EVA MENDES, AND ED HARRIES, INCLUDING LUIS GUZMAN. ALTHOUGH THIS IS NOT A 2021 MOVIE, AND IS A BIT OLDER, IT IS NOT ONE PERCENT DATED.
Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2021
Per Rotten Tomatoes, this film was a flop with audiences and critics. I can’t figure out why. The acting was superb, the writing and directing good, the ending unexpected but completely believable.
Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2021
Good acting but predictable film from the PC police
Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2021
Worked great for soldering
That’s a Wrap
I rated it C+. Better than your average Netflix show!
What did you think?
Set painter in studio Art Depts. Member Scriptwriters Network, script analyst.
Author, 2 hardcopy books, Barnes & Noble Calendar.
- Emma in the Night ~ Wendy Walker ~ Thriller - May 11, 2023
- Still Alice (2014) ~ Psychology Movie Review ~ Julianne Moore - January 25, 2023
- The Other Emily ~ Dean Koontz - January 23, 2023
