Honestly, I'd give this film a 5.5, but that's not an option...
I just saw this film last night at the Toronto International Film Festival. It's a decent movie in the whodunnit/cop genre, but really not much more. It's mainly saved from complete mediocrity by the stylish filming, with some interesting and beautiful shots on offer.
Samuel L. Jackson plays the title "Cleaner" - a retired cop who now runs a cleaning service whose clients are almost exclusively crime scenes. Every time someone gets their head blown off, he's there to mop up the mess once the cops have done their bit. He unwitingly uncovers a murder and subsequent cover-up and gets deeply involved in trying to find out whodunnit, while uncovering a trail of vast police corruption along the way.
This movie was unable to really draw me in, mostly due to the uninteresting characters and seen-it-all-before storyline. By the halfway point you'll have figured out whodunnit. I also found the soundtrack rather distracting. It seemed to consist mostly of swelling orchestral music at odd and inappropriate times. I dunno, it could have just been me.
On the plus side, it is a slickly and stylishly shot film, nice to look at for the most part, many beautiful yet stark urban locations. Speaking of beautiful, Eva Mendes does a fine job of looking fine throughout this flick, though her character doesn't give her much to work with.
In short, this is a slightly above average whodunnit/cop flick. If that's what you're into, you'll like it.
I just saw this film last night at the Toronto International Film Festival. It's a decent movie in the whodunnit/cop genre, but really not much more. It's mainly saved from complete mediocrity by the stylish filming, with some interesting and beautiful shots on offer.
Samuel L. Jackson plays the title "Cleaner" - a retired cop who now runs a cleaning service whose clients are almost exclusively crime scenes. Every time someone gets their head blown off, he's there to mop up the mess once the cops have done their bit. He unwitingly uncovers a murder and subsequent cover-up and gets deeply involved in trying to find out whodunnit, while uncovering a trail of vast police corruption along the way.
This movie was unable to really draw me in, mostly due to the uninteresting characters and seen-it-all-before storyline. By the halfway point you'll have figured out whodunnit. I also found the soundtrack rather distracting. It seemed to consist mostly of swelling orchestral music at odd and inappropriate times. I dunno, it could have just been me.
On the plus side, it is a slickly and stylishly shot film, nice to look at for the most part, many beautiful yet stark urban locations. Speaking of beautiful, Eva Mendes does a fine job of looking fine throughout this flick, though her character doesn't give her much to work with.
In short, this is a slightly above average whodunnit/cop flick. If that's what you're into, you'll like it.