When I read the cover of Clean, directed by Olivier Assayas , my first thought was that it would be just another drug addiction story with a little boy lost. Much to my surprise, it was a very good film with some intensely acted parts that were well worth watching.
Maggie Cheung, an apparent knockoff of Yoko Ono in looks, plays the role of Emily Wang. To say that she is not well liked would be diminishing the impact she has on people she is in contact with on a daily basis. She is nasty, self-absorbed, foul mouthed and sullen. Her partner, Lee Hauser, played briefly by James Johnston, is also a slave to his heroin addiction. His time on screen is short because the film really isn’t about him at all. The act of overdosing and subsequently dying is actually the catalyst for the remainder of the film.
Emily and Lee have a son, Jay, played by James Dennis. He lives with his grandparents, Rosemary and Albrecht Hauser. Martha Henry is Rosemary, kind, gentle, and yet with an underlying hatred for Emily that is imparted to little Jay. Nick Nolte is Albrecht. I have to admit that I do not generally like Nick Nolte’s performances and tend to shy away from any films he is acting in. Once again I was pleasantly surprised this time around.
The film centers on Emily and her journey towards once again being reunited with her son. She is incarcerated and upon her release, sets about cleaning up her life. One part of the film that was skimmed over was her ability to break the heroin addiction. In light of the difficulty involved in such a task, very little was mentioned and her success without relapse was omitted.
She visits many old acquaintances during this process in order to find a decent job and prove her worth. As this occurs, we have the distinct pleasure of watching Albrecht enter the picture and converse with her. He is a rough looking man with a heart of gold, determined to reunite mother and son. He is old and as we discover further along in the film, his wife, Rosemary, is dying. He feels that his time is on this earth is also short, and thus he makes every effort to encourage Emily.
Albrecht speaks in a soft, gravelly voice that immediately brings the audience into his thoughts and feelings. His eyes are a mirror to his soul and unlike his outward appearance, there is kindness and love. He is steadfast in his belief that Jay must be with his mother regardless of the tainted words his wife bestowed on her son.
Once Emily has embraced her new life a reunion is scheduled with Jay. Complications arise when Jay is told of this meeting due solely to the belief he has adopted via the words of Rosemary. Once again, in my opinion, there is a gap in the logical sequence of events. The audience sees a stubborn little boy who accuses his mother of killing his father and before long, he has agreed to the meeting and adapts almost too easily for the logical mind to accept. On a brighter note, the impact of the role of Jay was right on target. It wasn’t sappy or contrived. The film could have, at this point, turned into a tear-jerker but for the excellent direction of Olivier, and the adherence to the actual point of the film.
Overall, it was a good film that went by quickly without boredom setting in, but I wouldn’t say it was the best I have ever seen. It was essentially the same film as a hundred others yet enough of a twist to keep it interesting.