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 lean"
is a film best known for the remarkable central performance of actress Maggie
Cheung, for which she won the top award at the 2004 Cannes film festival. Also
of interest is the fact that it was directed by Oliver Assayas, to whom Cheung
was married until the film was actually in production. Apparently, the split was
amicable, which is just as well, as "Clean" comes across at times as a
love letter from the director to the actress, focusing entirely on her character
and seemingly written with the sole purpose of giving her the chance to
demonstrate her thespian skills to the full.
Assayas is a director whose works have tended to
divide critics, from his interesting and generally well-regarded film
industry parody, "Irma Vep" (also starring Cheung) through to
his last effort, the odd "Demonlover", based around the
production of adult 'hentai' animation. His films have in common an air
of authenticity and a determinedly realistic approach, which in the case
of "Clean" serves the material well. Although
"Clean" is a little too conventional in narrative terms, it is
believable, and contains enough honest emotion to make it more
interesting and affecting than it may otherwise have been. This is
helped hugely by Cheung, whose portrayal of an egotistical junkie coming
to terms with life is remarkable, and well deserving of the accolades it
has been awarded.
Beginning in Canada, the film follows Emily
(Cheung), whose relationship with her rock star boyfriend Lee seems to
be held together only by their shared heroin dependence. After he
overdoses, and she is handed a six month prison sentence, custody of
Jay, their young son goes to Lee's parents, Albrecht and Rosemary
(played respectively by the legendary Nick Nolte and Martha Henry), with
whom the boy has been living with for some time. Released from jail and
barred from seeing her son until she overcomes her addiction, Emily
heads to Paris where she tries to put her life back together and
relaunch her music industry career. Things don't turn out as planned,
with suspicion and temptation around every corner, and Emily begins to
lose hope, until she receives word from Albrecht that he and his wife
are staying in London, and recent developments have forced him to
reconsider what is best for Jay.
Although the synopsis may make "Clean"
sound like a slice of television melodrama, Assayas (who also wrote the
script) deftly avoids the majority of clichés of the drug addiction
sub-genre, both of the sentimental and shock tactics variety. He opts
instead for a far more candid and genuine approach which, if not
actually gritty, is at least more credible than many of its peers.
Assayas shoots everything in his usual style, meaning a great deal of
jittery hand held camera work, lending "Clean" an almost
documentary like feel, which helps to give the impression that the film
is an honest attempt to explore the life of a real person, rather than a
simple filmic stereotype.
"Clean" focuses on the affects of addiction
and on the central character, rather than on the drugs themselves, and
as such is free of the glamorous needle shots or fast edited pill
popping scenes which so often predominate similar efforts. This is a
move which allows Assayas to explore the central protagonist in great
depth, and the character of Emily is compelling and well written, being
at once aggressive and fragile. The whole film hinges on whether or not
the viewer will sympathise with her struggle, and so it is fortunate
that Cheung gives what may be the performance of her career. Occupying
virtually every frame of the film, Cheung never fails to convince,
displaying a stunning versatility and range as she effortlessly switches
between languages, and gives her character a believable sense of growth
and development.
The
downside is that the rest of the film is very much in Cheung's shadow,
with all of its events and subplots quite obviously revolving around
her. As a result, several aspects of the narrative come across as rather
redundant, and many of the supporting cast feel like mere anecdotes in
what is her story alone. The film is well paced and generally
interesting, though without a strong sense of narrative, it does at
times seem somewhat adrift and unwisely whimsical. The ending in
particular is less cathartic than would perhaps have been hoped, and so
fails to satisfy.
Although the viewer does care about what happens to
Emily, and her plight is indeed a compelling one, at the end of the day
"Clean" is quite obviously an affecting, though undeniably
average film which is boosted by an outstanding piece of acting by star
Maggie Cheung.
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