Hard-edged, old-fashioned, and anchored by a sturdy movie star performance from Adrien Brody, Clean plays well as a socially-tinged vigilante thriller. Directed by Paul Solet (from a script he co-wrote with Brody), the film moves fast and rises above certain genre tropes. Brody plays Clean, a garbage man seeped in the sins of his past. In the opening minutes, he goes about his day: driving his early morning route before retiring to his industrial dwelling wherein he retrieves abandoned machines from a junkyard and brings them back to life. The resurrected results he sells to local pawnbroker Kurtis (RZA, reliably great).
Frequent, brief flashbacks hint at the violence that Clean is attempting to escape. Young actress Chandler Ari DuPont plays Dianda, a neighborhood girl whom Clean feels compelled to protect. In her is he reminded of his late daughter. When the wayward son (Richie Merritt) of a violent local gangster (Glenn Fleshler) is in the wrong place at the wrong time, Clean winds up in the crosshairs of the mob. Of course, they also wind up in the crosshairs of Clean. Though the majority of the action is saved for the third act, the visceral tone is worth the wait.
Solet’s picture fits well into its location: the city of Utica. Smack dab in the middle of New York State, Utica is a specific place that feels both worn-down and incredibly of-the-moment. As Clean drives from street to street in his garbage truck, Zoran Popovic’s camera captures a town grappling with its own demons. As a neighbor tells Clean: “this street used to be all families.” Drugs and the addictions they bring have affected so much life, something of which Clean is personally aware. Without underlining the issues or preaching to the choir, the film tactfully exists in our present-day world. This added element recalls American films from ’70s. Once upon a time, star vehicles could be genre pictures with social commentary on its fringes. In this way, Clean is incredibly refreshing.
Brody is great here, his long face and animated eyes doing a lot of work. It’s a quiet performance, an arena where the actor has always excelled. Without doing much, we know Clean: who he is and who he’s trying to be. The flashbacks are, in this sense, unnecessary. A performance like this is so rarely celebrated. Perhaps understandably, a lot of notice is given to acting that is a bit more direct and obtuse. An impersonation. Something with a hefty monologue at the end. Now, these are often wonderful turns in wonderful movies. One hopes for a world in which the small, subtle choices are given as much recognition as the big, bombastic ones.
And though Fleshler is memorable as the ultimate villain, he’s lacking in sufficient character development. We are given glimpses into a complicated family life (that’s putting it mildly), but not quite enough to square some huge third act decisions. Still, Solet is economical in his direction and the brisk pace forgives a narrative shortcut or two. Clean is a throwback set in a painfully present America.
Clean is now in theaters and on VOD.