Cleaner Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
Solving a crime can be dirty work.
With some crimes nobody gets out clean.
A former cop who now earns a wage as a crime scene cleaner unknowingly participates in a cover-up at his latest job.
| Samuel L. Jackson | Tom Cutler |
| Ed Harris | Eddie Lorenzo |
| Eva Mendes | Ann Norcut |
| Luis Guzmán | Det. Jim Vargas |
| Keke Palmer | Rose Cutler |
| Maggie Lawson | Cherie |
| Jose Pablo Cantillo | Miguel |
| Robert Forster | Arlo Grange |
| Edrick Browne | Det. Darrin Harris |
| Marc Macaulay | Vic |
| Rosalind Rubin | Crying Woman |
| Mike Guy | Priest #1 |
| Richard Folmer | Priest #2 |
| James Barnes | Lawyer |
| Linda Leonard | Francine Mason |
| Renny Harlin |
6.10 out of 10 (9199 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Strong acting, nice filmography.. Just to cover a thin story
posted on 19 Jul 2009As a finnish movie fan, it's always interesting to see a new film from Renny Harlin. Especially when Samuel L. Jackson, one of the most distinctive actors ever, is in it.Jackson plays a crime scene cleaner, which you think would be what this movie is surrounded on. With all the C.S.I. stuff out there, it might interest some. But the scene where the story starts actually tastes like an idea where to start the story, not a theme for a movie where to excavate.The plot is an uninspiring one, from the beginning to the end. There are some attempted details and twists to bring some life and excitement to this story. I'm sorry to say they really fail. There is no depth in this movie, and every attempt to create some is exactly that - an attempt.This is bad cause the acting is pretty and the directing is nice. I can't really understand what the director saw in this script. Maybe the idea of creating something without special effects and exploiting the CSI-thing.I give this one 6/10. All points going to actors and the director.The movie is categorized as "Crime / Thriller". If you want anything good (and new) like that I suggest you see "Awake".
Beautiful Photography, Boring Plot and a Poor Ending
posted on 15 Jul 2009Cleaner is a surprisingly boring and lackluster movie beautifully photographed. The casting is superb and would seem to be a sure recipe for cinematic success--Samuel L. Jackson, Ed Harris, Eve Mendes and Luis Guzman. The dialog is decent and well acted. The plot is where this movie just completely drops the ball.The plot begins mildly unbelievably--A crime scene cleaner becomes unwittingly immersed in the cover up of a homicide--and then just snowballs downhill from there into a huge police cover-up (I don't want to "spoil" anything for any potential viewers) with an unbelievable plot twist and then ends in a thoroughly stupid and highly implausible ending.The upside and downside is this movie is beautifully filmed and with such talent, thought and effort that the cinematography itself keeps you thinking it has to get better and it only gets worse.I hope Ed Harris got paid a lot of money to do this film! Ed does a great job with the little he has to go with and proves what a great actor he is. Eva Mendes does a poor job playing a recent widow to murdered husband (is she angry/sad/sexy/conspiratorial/or just a gold-digger who married a sugar daddy who just got knocked off?). Luis Guzman does a solid job as usual.I seem to enjoy the movies where Samuel L. Jackson plays a supporting role or shares the lead rather than being the sole lead e.g. Pulp Fiction, The Negotiator, A Time To Kill, etc... In Cleaner he does a reasonable job with a poor plot until the end where his acting coupled with a bad plot twist left me wondering what I could have done better with the time it took to watch Cleaner.All in all I wish this cast and DoP would have had a better script. I would recommend that Matt Aldrich stick to acting and give up the script-writing. As I think everything was done well except for the storyline/plot aka the script. I give kudos to Renny Harlin (director) for a job well done.
Finally a good movie from Renny Harlin
posted on 30 May 2009I had very low expectations for this movie. Renny Harlin hasn't made a decent movie in many years so I expected the usual crap, but i was very surprised. It had good plot, very nice acting and was well made. Samuel L. Jackson plays a retired police officer who has a "Cleaning company". He cleans up murder scenes and other scenes of death. One day he does a job in a mansion and gets trapped in a web of deceit.The Movie unfolds in a low key, unusual for Renny, which usually has lot of noise and action in his movies :) It has lot of blood though(not surprising given the title...) So basically this movie is a good way to spent hour and half. Hopefully Renny boy is out of the slums....
Way too predictable
posted on 28 May 2009I normally don't try and second guess a crime thriller, but Cleaner was just entirely too predictable. Samuel L. Jackson playing the character Tom Cutler, along with his profession created an interesting twist in the beginning of the film, however, that was about it. Without even thinking I knew where the plot would be taken and within 30 minutes I had already figured out who the killer was. Rather then trusting myself and having seen several films that make a turnabout, I watched to its completion. What a disappointment, I was right from the beginning.The casting of characters was a good, as well as the acting from Jackson and Harris...except for Eva Mendes. From the starting gate she didn't play a believable character in correlation to the script and this ruined the entire plot too soon. Maybe this was a directing mishap or just weakness in the story itself. Her role as Ann Norcut should have shown more emotion and distress for the situation that was building around her. This would've made the build-up a bit more compelling and the ending more dramatic. Nevertheless, Cleaner is watchable, not memorable. I've seen episodes of CSI that were more thrilling then this.
It was O.k
posted on 02 May 2009I think the movie was alright for a relaxing evening.Good acting,good photography,decent plot,what else do u expect from that kind of films!If you are not a fan of police story-tellings do your self a favor and go see the ''THE NOTEBOOK''.The movie is definitely not the best I've seen and I probably wouldn't have gone seeing it in a movie theater,but that doesn't mean that it was bad.Of course the leading actors save the day,but the movie had the atmosphere and the suspense required.O.k it wasn't THE NEGOTIATOR but somehow these people have to make a living.Yet in the end you have an entertaining movie,perfect for a DVD-evening with pop-corn and refreshments.
rare qualities
posted on 28 Apr 2009Cleaner is an absolute gem. It has that magical combination of compelling characters, actors at the top of their form, brisk direction, and satisfying scriptwriting. Samuel Jackson, always wonderful to watch, has rarely been better than in this role, and his character has all the ingredients: humanity, depth and quality of feeling, strong individuality, and ability to surprise the audience with admirable, even frightening, qualities and capabilities in keeping his counsel while navigating a compelling set of dilemmas. The richness of the film is amazing. There are three or four major plot lines, all of which are beautifully rendered and conceived: the loneliness of the lead character's occupation, the legacy of his complicated past as a cop, the relationship with his daughter, the relationship with his former partner in the force, played wonderfully by Ed Harris. The plot goes a little over the top in the end, but by that time you don't care. You are so involved with these wonderful characters (in the end the lead character and his daughter) that you are willing to go with anything to see them find their way through. And they do, in one of the finest, simplest uses of narrative voice I've seen . . . the opening in the voice of the lead character and the closing in the voice of the daughter.So . . . wonderful, magical film, wonderfully written and directed. First class. Gratitude from this viewer for a rare cinematic experience.
Almost a good thriller
posted on 24 Apr 2009Tom Cutler (Jackson) is a retired policeman who now works as a crime scene Cleaner-upper. In his latest job, he cleans a new crime scene and destroys evidence and isn't aware the crime hasn't been officially reported. Uh oh, this can't be good. You hear about Cleaners all the time, but usually when a mob or gangland hit is involved when bodies etc need to be removed and the area cleaned up. This one is different in that Tom Cutler works with the Police to clean up after the police have done their investigation of a crime scene. Hey, someone has to do it. You know the Police won't. The movie makes that quite clear and it is up to the family to get the area cleaned up. This is almost a good thriller, but a side plot involving Tom's daughter (Palmer) makes this story somewhat awkward. I guess they had to fill in some time. Oh, they brought this side plot around to connect with the another side plot, but it was still a reach and awkward. See?This was almost a good thriller because there was a noticeable lack of tension, suspense and the pace was somewhat draggy. The music didn't help either as I noticed the music was more appropriate for watching people take a long journey. You know, journey music. Get it? HA!The acting by all was excellent in this almost a good thriller. Violence: Yes, Sex: No, Nudity: No, Language: No
Ever wonder who cleans up the bloody messes at crime scenes?
posted on 16 Apr 2009In the 1994 movie "Leon" the assassin was also called a "cleaner." This movie is about a different kind of cleaner.Samuel L. Jackson is Tom Cutler, former cop and single parent, who now works for a cleaning service. One of his specialties is cleaning up the bloody mess at crime scenes after murders. He takes it in stride, wears all the necessary protective equipment, and uses his own personal favorite mix of cleaning agents and sanitizers to make sure all possible bacteria and viruses are killed. He is thorough and he is good.Tom's best friend and godfather to his daughter is Ed Harris as investigator Eddie Lorenzo. Eva Mendes is Ann Norcut and Luis Guzmán is Det. Jim Vargas.The murder mystery gets going when Tom gets a clean-up order for the home of the Norcuts. He finds a key under the flower pot and a very bloody mess on the white sofa, the floor, and the wall. When he leaves it is spotless. Another routine job.However, Tom shortly realizes that something is wrong, Mr Norcut seems to be "missing" and his wife knows nothing about the order to clean the place.A mostly interesting movie about solving this mystery about the disappearance of Norcut. Jackson and Harris are good, as they always are.SPOILERS: It turns out that Eddie was having an affair with Mrs Norcut. For reasons too complex to discuss here, it became necessary for Eddie to get rid of Mr Norcut, and he was the one who ordered the home to be "cleaned." In the final climax Eddie had a cocked gun to Tom's head and them we hear a gunshot. It was Tom's daughter who shot Eddie before he killed her dad.
Better than The Covenant (A lot) and Mindhunters (A little bit)
posted on 04 Apr 2009Renny directed the 2006 film and it could of been a lot better. The Cleaner does deliverer it for me. Renny has been doing alright films with Mindhunters and so on but I was surprise with this film. Renny went back to the bloody R-rated style with this film and did a good job.The acting was good from Samuel L. Jackson, Eva Mendes and Ed Harris. Ed did deliver a lot especially the ending.It had a good twist in the movie, not the best like Saw but at least interesting.I give good luck to Renny Harlin for his next film 12 rounds because it might be his comeback at the box-office, not as big like Cliffhanger but better than his recent movies.
script was the only downer here
posted on 02 Apr 2009Spielberg was right... a bad script won't make a good film... it was proved here. the cast and crew made a tremendous effort to make the script work but it just didn't pull off... the cinematography in this movie was superb particularly with the transitions between scenes... renny Harlin and the DP definitely put their part in this one... the cast also did a good job... Samuel l Jackson was on form... seems like most was on him and i felt the other characters weren't developed as much though this isn't a problem.. it still seemed to work and kept me watching right through the end...the story started off great... Jackson plays a cleaner who cleans up a crime scene... get sent to clean up a house and walks back in the next day not realising the house is still being occupied by the owner(Eva mendes) who has no clue about it. this was the highlight of the movie.. then just lost itself.. her husband is missing... Jackson tries to find out to made the call... etc etc i won't go any further but it ended poorly and had an unbelievable theme of affair which just didn't work at all... worth renting though just for the cinematography... overall 6/10 for a good effort by cast and crew...
This movie is one big mess
posted on 27 Mar 2009There are quite a few films made. that for some reason or another go direct to DVD,playing in a few theatres in Europe.Viewing this tonight I can see why, they decided NOT to play this in any USA theatre. They would have needed a CLEANER to clean the mess.Matthew Aldrich's first screenplay may be his last,it starts with a good idea & goes downhill from that point on; the script was confusing, cliché ridden & above all not very interesting.The director Reny Harlin was of no help here,He is far from a real good director BUT here he completely misses the boat.The cast is top draw & usually reason enough to see them in a movie, Samuel Jackson, Ed Harris, Eve Mendes & Luis Guzman do the best they can with what they have to work with.I also want to mention the fine performance by 14 year old Keke Palmer, She plays the daughter of Sam Jackson & is just excellent.If this had a more thought out script & better direction it could have been much better,.Ratings ** (out of 4) 62 points (out of 100) IMDb 5 (out of 10)
It has the potential to be a decent crime thriller
posted on 09 Feb 2009This film is a crime scene cleaner who unknowingly participates in a cover-up when he cleans a posh home in a rich neighbourhood.I think "Cleaner" has the potential to be a decent crime thriller. It has great cinematography, and it creates an atmosphere of suspense and threat throughout the film. The plot is decent and engaging, though vaguely predictable. Keke Palmer is actually convincing as a troubled teenager, I think she has potential to make it big. Eva Mendes, on the other hand, is rather bland and unconvincing.However, the clean up scenes in the beginning of the film are entirely unnecessary. One scene would have been enough to convey the point, but the gore lasts for over 10 minutes. Maybe the director wants to enhance the scary and uneasy atmosphere, but this is a thriller not a horror film! These scenes distracts the viewers, and could have been cut out.
Surprisingly sluggish and dull for what should have been a thriller
posted on 24 Jan 2009Tom Cutler is a crime scene cleaner – his company is contracted to remove the blood and gore left behind when the authorities have removed the bodies. A former cop, Tom is also a widower with a teenage daughter to look after. Tom gets a job like any other and cleans the mess from a bloody murder in a rich neighbourhood so that nothing remains for the family to see. He goes back the next day to find the family home but that they have no knowledge of his work or indeed that anything untoward happened. Trying to contact the cop who gave Tom the job turns out to be a dead end and a fake name, meaning that Tom has effectively deleted all evidence of a murder before anyone else knew about it. When the police launch a "missing persons" enquiry into a high-profile man in a police corruption case, Tom quickly finds himself up to his neck in trouble.The cast attracted me to this and I wondered why, with all these people involved, I hadn't heard of it. Watching it helped me understand why it never came to my attention because it doesn't ever get going before it hurts itself. The concept is good enough as we have a former police officer now cleaning crime scenes used to delete the record of murder. On paper what happens also works well as skeletons come out of the closet and the stakes get higher as Tom nears the truth, however when it comes to delivery on screen, it all falls apart. The opening of the film is brisk enough but when it gets to the point where it has to start doing something (ie specifically when the crime is discovered) the film seems to slip into neutral gear and just coast on as before. As a result we get lots of stuff that don't work and should have been minimised or removed and also lots of stuff that is too average to impress.What I am talking about is the lack of pace and tension in the film; I know that Tom is an older character and that a good thriller doesn't need shouting or running to engage but this film definitely needs some energy injected into it. It drags its way through the plot to the obvious conclusion (and, detail aside, it is pretty obvious) and it never really made me sit up and take notice. A lot of the problem is with the writing because on one hand we clearly have a film that is put together as a thriller but then on the other hand the writer seems keen to drive the film from the characters. Thus we have scenes of domestic troubles, moments with characters revealing things about themselves and, to be blunt, too much talking. It wouldn't matter if the film did this in a way that engaged me but at the same time it is attracting you with the thriller plot so that all this other stuff feels like a waste of time – they could have worked together but here they don't.The cast can do nothing with it either, although none of them really help themselves. Considering what better films all those involved have done, it is disappointing to see them struggle or fail in different ways. Jackson appears to have been mis-directed because he is looking for something from within his character instead of just flicking into "thriller mode". Neither the material nor the film rewards this approach and his performance ends up feeling like another distraction. He does work well with Palmer though (who herself is very good) but again this whole side of the film feels like a distraction. Harris is obvious and a bit lazy, while Guzmán plays it the way you expect. Mendes is the biggest let-down for me. I know many don't rate her but I think she is good at what she does but, here, she just struggles with her dialogue and character and is about as poor as I think I've seen her.Overall then what we have here is a flat film that never really sparks into life in any regard. The thriller core lacks energy and the associated threads of family etc are not allowed to grow and end up just being distractions. You can see the potential but without decided what it wants to be, general uncertainty has prevented anyone working too hard and has produced a surprisingly sluggish and dull affair.
Underrated movie.
posted on 06 Jan 2009Underrated movie. It starts off with beautiful directing and an interesting story to tell, elements of humor that work well and the obvious great casting.Now I was able to figure out the ending, that wasn't so much because of the plot but rather down to the casting choice, I don't hold that against the movie though. My biggest problems with the movie were: after the first few scenes all humor disappears, which invalidates the opening scenes; during around the 3rd quarter of the film it loses its cinematography and style and becomes a bit of a made for TV detective movie.I still think the movie was good and strongly recommend it, just be prepared for the downfalls and it'll be very enjoyable.
Boring and predictable
posted on 04 Jan 2009What ever happened to Hollywood creativity? There was an interesting idea , about the guy who cleans up the crime scenes and discovers the cover-up of some kind. So far so good, and then it all goes downhill It takes all of grand 5 minutes to completely figure out the whole plot. This movie is ridden with the tritest of clichés. Characters couldn't be more boring and predictable. And the tragic part is,in all of this you could see the potential for a great thriller. It looks like the talentless, behind the scenes moneymakers, once again asserted their rights and ruined yet another movie. Will someone finally get rid of this morons and let the filmmakers do their job as they seem fit.
Cleaner is a winner and worth watching twice!
posted on 13 Dec 2008Harlin does his job well. I agree with another post there is some similarities to other films and the twists therein but the subject matter, the beginning and ending as book-ends is a nice touch.Jackson, the daughter and Harris all give a great performance. The actress I don't feel like looking up to quote is worth mentioning her performance. Her emotions are felt quite easily in this film, as are Jackson's in his coldness and compartmentalization of everything to control his world to keep the nature of his work and his past IN PLACE.The more control he exerts, the more he feels he HAS control, which we all know is illusion and he soon discovers this for himself.The movie is well worth theater, rental, or any viewing more than once even. The major twists would've been nice but don't seem needed in yet another snippet of life film, which I like a lot and seem to be on the rise as Independent Films have started to have more and more effect on Hollywood productions.It doesn't have to tie up seamlessly, it doesn't have to be magic. It just has to represent some portion of life and this movie does that.Watch it, empathize, enjoy.
Harris/Jackson
posted on 03 Dec 2008i was really looking forward to watching this when it came out,, now it wasn't a bad movie mind ya,, just wasn't quite what i hoped for coming from Samuel Jackson, and Ed Harris, now Eva Mendez can't act worth a hill of beans,, yeah she's hot but that's not enough for me in this movie. Reny Harlin directed this,, so that's part of the reason i thought with the star power of harris and jackson combined with Harlin that it would be better, you got a crime scene cleaner who unknowingly erases all of the evidence of a murder. you got a a retired cop jackson who is the crime scene cleaner,,going up against harris the current cop on the force,, i think mainly eva mendes's character is just for show,, let's call it eye candy. there is a pretty good mystery here at the beginning but there is something i don't quite know but it's just missing from this movie,, maybe not enough suspense, or action,, just can't seem to put my finger on it .
My Review
posted on 21 Nov 2008Former detective Tom Cutler (Samuel L. Jackson) now works as a cleaner...someone who cleans up after someone dies. It ain't a pretty job, and he's also a single dad raising his teenage daughter Rose (Keke Palmer).After cleaning a particular job, he realizes he still has the key, and when he goes back to the house he meets Ann Norcut (Eva Mendes), who says she never hired anyone to clean anything. Things start to take a turn for the worse when Tom discovers that Ann's husband has 'gone missing,' and reunites with old friend Eddie (Ed Harris) to try and figure out the mystery.Meanwhile, the corrupt cops are on their trail, and Tom doesn't know who to trust. With past mistakes looming in his mind, he's alone in trying to find out the real truth behind what's going on."Cleaner" is nothing original. It's the typical crooked cop, hidden murder, secretive script. While the acting was decent (what else would you expect from Jackson, Harris and Mendes?), it just wasn't anything thrilling.
One of Renny Harlin's best movies in a while.
posted on 18 Oct 2008Tom Carver (Samuel L. Jackson) is a former police detective, who turned crime scene cleaner. Which he cleans up the mess of people who committed suicide, accidental deaths or murder. After police are done investigate the crime. When Tom does his next clean-up of someone was murder in a high profile mansion. Then he later finds out that he was unwillingly set-up for a cover up. Which his supposedly last client Ann Norcut (Eva Mendes) is starting to ask questions why Tom was in her house, when no one was home. While his former partner (Ed Harris) tries to help Tom with the problem he's facing and while Tom's daughter Rose (Keke Palmer) is trying to ask her father, why her mother was murder awhile back. While the father and daughter relationship proves to be increasingly difficult, since Tom is never quite there for her.Directed by Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2:Die Harder, The Covenant, Mindhunters) made an stylish, interesting, sometimes very fascinating film. Harlin's latest film certain matured a lot, after making Hollywood movies they were always Hits or Misses. The visual style of the picture are the highlight. Scott Kaven's (Cabin Fever, the upcoming Paul W.S. Anderson's Death Race) cinematography are also good. The actors in the film gives good performances. The relationship between the father and daughter are one of the best parts in the picture. While the premise of first-time screenwriter Matthew Aldrich is somewhat original but his script could have been more complex.DVD has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1) transfer and an strong Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. DVD includes an interesting audio commentary by the director, deleted scenes and a digital copy of the movie. This might have came straight to DVD in North America but it came out in Overseas in several European countries. Jackson, who's terrific as usual also worked with director Harlin in the underrated "The Long Kiss Goodnight" and the wildly entertaining "Deep Blue Sea". Which Jackson is also one of the producers of this feature. Luis Gusman appears in a small supporting role is always a hoot in any features he has appeared in. Robert Forster appears in a cameo as well. Fans of film noir will be modestly entertained by the movie. Certainly worth a look. Super 35. (*** ½/*****).
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Don't watch it...Save your time
posted on 14 Aug 2009Request you to not watch this movie... It starts with a promise and as it goes on you crave for the movie to end... Predictable,not entertaining at all,wasted movie... Save your time and watch better thrillers.... The synopsis sounds good and that is why I watched the movie... But it was way too predictable with nothing to give you a start... No great suspense.. no great direction... nothing phenomenal with the acting... shy away from this... low rating... Nothing to write about this movie so I am filling up the remaining lines of text so you can imagine how much a time waster this movie is...really irritated at how good a premise that was and how bad a screenplay was written out of it...