The Upcoming
  • Cinema & Tv
    • Movie reviews
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Show reviews
  • Music
    • Live music
  • Food & Drinks
    • News & Features
    • Restaurant & bar reviews
    • Interviews & Recipes
  • Theatre
  • Art
  • Travel & Lifestyle
  • Literature
  • Fashion & Beauty
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Competitions
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureMovie reviews

Clean

Clean | Movie review
4 July 2022
Andrew Murray
Avatar
Andrew Murray
4 July 2022

Movie and show review

Andrew Murray

Clean

★★★★★

Release date

4th July 2022

Certificate

UPG121518 title=

Links

TwitterInstagramFacebookWebsite

Adrien Brody stars as titular garbage collector Clean in director and co-writer Paul Solet’s (who co-wrote the script alongside Brody) lacklustre action flick. The protagonist is the gruff and brooding archetype haunted by a violent past he can’t escape. He feels protective over a local teenager, Diandra (Chandler Ari Dupont), who reminds him of his late daughter. And, when a series of events puts her in the path of the son (Richie Merritt) of a violent gangster (Glenn Fleshler), tragedy strikes and Clean finds himself on a path of vengeance.

It’s a familiar premise that plays into the plot beats audiences would expect. However, it takes almost the entire film for events to kick into gear. Much of the runtime centres around the protagonist going about his day-to-day life. He scavenges junk to sell when he’s not driving his garbage truck. He attends group therapy to cope with his past and gives Diandra sandwiches every day before school. He even paints a graffitied house and feeds a dog. Meanwhile, occasional scenes with the gangsters are used to demonstrate how insanely cruel they are. However, it takes what feels like an eternity for these plot threads to collide, and the ensuing climax isn’t worth the wait. Gore and cheesy one-liners are plentiful as Clean gleefully slaughters henchmen in the final twenty minutes, though the carnage has a floaty and clunky quality to it which fails to leave the visceral impact the finale aims for.

A bigger issue with this film is that it takes itself far too seriously. The protagonist is essentially Travis Bickle if he had a different vocation. Like Bickle, Clean monologues about his discontent towards the crime-ridden streets as he drives through them in the early morning, a soundtrack of moody jazz setting the scene. Clean’s job could even be seen as another manifestation of his desire to clean up the streets. But Taxi Driver this film is not. The key characters are all exaggerated stereotypes to the point of parody, and the script’s unwillingness to acknowledge the ridiculousness of the roster or characters or have any fun along the way with its premise results in a tremendously dull affair.

★★★★★

Andrew Murray

Clean is released in select cinemas on 4th July 2022.

Watch the trailer for Clean here:

Related ItemsAdrien BrodyCleanfilmreview

More in Movie reviews

Nope

★★★★★
Selina Sondermann
Read More

Eiffel

★★★★★
Diletta Lobuono
Read More

Fadia’s Tree

Marissa Khaos
Read More

Prey

★★★★★
Selina Sondermann
Read More

What Josiah Saw

★★★★★
Andrew Murray
Read More

Luck

★★★★★
Guy Lambert
Read More

Maisie

★★★★★
Andrew Murray
Read More

Bullet Train

★★★★★
Matthew McMillan
Read More

Thirteen Lives

★★★★★
Andrew Murray
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Movie and show review

Andrew Murray

Clean

★★★★★

Release date

4th July 2022

Certificate

UPG121518 title=

Links

TwitterInstagramFacebookWebsite

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Midsummer Mechanicals at Sam Wanamaker Playhouse
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Luck
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • “Theatre is totally unique… there’s simply nothing else quite like it”: An interview with Sir Howard Panter as the new cast of Jersey Boys opens at Trafalgar Theatre
    Theatre
  • What Josiah Saw
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • South Facing Festival: Richard Ashcroft and his band were on impressive form from start to finish
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • South Facing Festival: Richard Ashcroft and his band were on impressive form from start to finish
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Nope
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Eiffel
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Five Days at Memorial
    ★★★★★
    apple
  • “Theatre is totally unique… there’s simply nothing else quite like it”: An interview with Sir Howard Panter as the new cast of Jersey Boys opens at Trafalgar Theatre
    Theatre
  • Five Days at Memorial
    ★★★★★
    apple
  • South Facing Festival: Richard Ashcroft and his band were on impressive form from start to finish
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Nope
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Jersey Boys bring on a new cast at Trafalgar Theatre
    Theatre
  • Prey
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why
With the support from:
International driving license

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Adele lights up Hyde Park for BST Festival | Live review
Futura | Movie review