In Olivier Assayas’ new film “Clean,” the biggest kinds of turning points and major decisions seem to come when people are staring into their coffee cups or looking out train windows at night. If you think a good movie can be assembled on those minimalist terms, this might be a film for you.
Assayas is the French director of the superb 1999 film “Late August, Early September,” but “Clean” is an international production, set by turns in Canada, Paris and London (it’s mostly in English, not always dead-on, with some subtitled French scenes). Twice Assayas has written roles for the terrific Chinese actress Maggie Cheung: in “Irma Vep” (before they married), and “Clean” (after they divorced).
In “Clean,” Cheung plays Emily, the overbearing girlfriend of a once-famous, now heroin-addicted rock star (James Johnston). They wash up in a lousy motel room in Hamilton, Ontario, where she scores some heroin. Sometime during the night, he dies.
The world already blamed her for the decline in her boyfriend’s career; now they also blame her for his death. (There’s some subterranean echo of John Lennon and Yoko Ono here, especially since she is an Asian woman.) Emily does jail time for the drug charge, which means the couple’s five-year-old son must live with his grandparents, Albrecht and Rosemary.
They are played by Nick Nolte and Martha Henry. The mother is furious with Emily because of her son’s death. Albrecht, while trying to deal with his ailing wife, is also sensitive to Emily’s rights as a mother. He’s strict about protecting the little boy, but he harbors the hope that maybe Emily can get clean.
In Nolte’s rich, ravaged performance, this struggle to believe comes across as the emotional center of the film – despite the fact that Maggie Cheung has a larger role. (She won the best actress award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004 for this film.) Emily’s behavior is more opaque, but she gropes her way toward being straight: moving to Paris, working in restaurant and retail jobs just to establish consistency, and maintaining on prescription methadone.
Assayas has a fluid, dreamy style; he doesn’t go for the big dramatic moments. In fact, some of the pivotal events are either thrown away in longshot or skipped altogether.
Which brings us back to the coffee cup and the train window. “Clean” has a strong emotional impact, despite (or because of?) being underplayed and composed of little bits of truth. They add up beautifully.
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