Sunshine Cleaning (2009) July 2, 2009
Posted by gproject in : Cinema, Recently Viewed , trackbackDirected by: Christine Jeffs
This latest independently-spirited comic drama comes directly “from the producers of Little Miss Sunshine” [review], and bares more than a passing resemblance to the Oscar winning jewel in this particular genre’s crown. Not least the title, which may at first glance may seem like subliminal messaging gone awry, but which is probably no more than coincidence given the nature of the story. You see, it is not in its similarities where Sunshine Cleaning really, well, shines. Instead, the differences, including a substantial shift in tone, help brush the cobwebs out of an old idea.
The low-key tale takes place, like so many do, around a family dynamic. Meet the Lorkowski’s: indie film’s newest screwed-up siblings, with problems just begging to be solved and life lessons waiting to be learned. Rose is a single mother and former high school head cheerleader, stuck working as a maid to support her son Oscar, while maintaining a long-term affair with ex-captain of the football team Mac, who is now married to someone else. In need of money after Oscar is expelled from his public school, Mac - also a local policeman - suggests crime-scene clean-up as a well paid racket if she could get into it. After recruiting no-hoper sister Norah, the two set about making the best of this odd venture, discovering that by entering other peoples’ lives at such a distressing time of need, they find new purpose in their own existence and an increased drive to succeed.
As a comedy drama, the film opens itself up not only to accessible marketing, but also simple-minded pigeon-holing. In actual fact, it holds focus on the dramatic elements much more consistently than most of its contemporaries, which sets the normal buoyancy of mood a couple of notches below where one might have been expecting. First-time screenwriter Megan Holley holds things together, however, through her neatly defined characterisation. Dysfunctionally drawn, each character has their own set of misfortunes and problems - Rose is needy: unable to release herself from an unwise relationship and ashamed of her job as a maid. Her sister Norah is directionless, the blacker of the two sheep. Their father Joe is a schemer, and although he means well, his pie-in-the-sky ventures usually leave him unable to fulfil his promises. While young Oscar is too smart, or maybe just too much a product of his family, for any local school.
While they may not sound like the most original of creations, the family relationship feels very genuine, mainly due to the sisterly bond brought to screen by stars Amy Adams and Emily Blunt. The scenes they share blossom as each comes to terms with the gaps in their own lives; finding purpose in this most odd of professions is the 
last thing you expect, and yet it never feels forced. Holley’s story too, is one of interesting premise, delivered at a relaxed pace but never with its foot off the gas long enough for you to get bored. At 91 minutes, the film is a neat and tidy package. So it’s a huge shame when the story peters out of steam just as the conclusion arrives. It’s as if, drained of pertinent plot or character points, the film simply up and leaves; the narrative equivalent of a cut and run. Plus, the long-standing movie issue where a character takes a purposefully undefined “road trip” as a finale to their arc feels, as ever, less than satisfactory.
Director Christine Jeffs is one of the few female directors in a hugely under-represented Hollywood group, currently languishing with only a few big players (Sofia Coppola and Kimberly Peirce spring to mind). Jeffs holds the reigns here well, quickly realising that while the film has its laughs, they are few and far between the scenes of quiet melancholy. The film also has a streak of sentimentality to it which could have destroyed a lesser movie, but which here is weaved neatly into the flow. One sub-plot involving the sisters’ strange infatuation with TV-movie diner scenes shows this balance at work, and is a particularly nice touch to the story. 
Then there is always the possibility that these deeply unsatisfied characters will appear dislikeable as their least favourable traits seem to surface upfront. But a touching moment between Rose and an elderly client proves to be the film’s redemption, appearing just at the right time.
Both pleasant and well written, Sunshine Cleaning has a substantial audience if the market for similar films is anything to go by. Surrounded by the spate of current summer blockbusters, even as counter-programming it may not achieve its full potential, but should more than make up for it on home video. And despite the abrupt ending and some rather mixed moments for the secondary characters (Norah’s relationship with Lynn only hints at something deeper before dissipating, while it’s never really clear whether Oscar’s problem is meant to be flippant or a serious issue), the film still has plenty to offer. Casting aside the family narrative, the appearance of Alan Arkin in an offbeat fatherly capacity, and the mantle of quirky independent summer feature, this is a movie that thankfully isn’t trying to be ‘Little Miss Sunshine Cleaning’, and comes out all the brighter for it.
Sunshine Cleaning is currently on UK general release.
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