(Hell, I‘d mop up brain matter for $3,000 a pop…)
CAST: Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin, Steve Zahn, Clifton Collins Jr., Jason Spevack, Mary Lynn Raskjub.
DIRECTOR: Christine Jeffs
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and rather offbeat vocations - to the say the bloody (pun intended) least - straight ahead…
There are some jobs in this world that are unquestionably glamorous: movie magazine editor, supermodel, deep-sea explorer, professional soccer player, hot-shot FBI agent, Fortune 500 CEO, forensics expert, and fashion designer are just a few that pop into my mind. Basically, if your occupation is any of the above, you are guaranteed to get laid anytime, anywhere. That is a fact.
And then there are jobs that are decidedly not glamorous: dog-walker, dishwasher, janitor, movie theatre usher, vending machine stocker, and garbage collector are just a few that pop into mind. Please note that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with these jobs. Quite the contrary, in fact, as they’re quite noble and necessary. They’re just not going to give “Chief Editor of Premiere Magazine” a run for its money in the Glitz sweepstakes anytime soon.
A job that straddles the space between “Glamorama Jobs” and “Humdrum Jobs” is the subject of our next review. Titled SUNSHINE CLEANING, our story revolves around two aimless sisters who up and decide to launch their own, um, “biohazard cleaning service” when they learn the pay ain’t nothin’ to sneeze at. In case you’re wondering what “biohazard cleaning service” means, let me ask you this: ever wonder who cleans up at murder scenes after the homicide dicks and forensics crew have done their numbers? Well, there you go. On one hand the job is almost glamorous because it has sort of a “CSI” aspect to it. On the other, however, it is definitely humdrum because it involves a lot of cleaning to it.
Yes. It is also gross. But try telling that to our sweet heroines, sisters Rose (Amy Adams) and Norah Lorkowski (Emily Blunt), who think they’re embarking on a paper route or setting up a lemonade stand. Oh, how wrong they are. Then again, this is exactly what you’d expect from a couple of chicks whose main talents seem to be sleeping with married men (Rose) or getting high when she’s not telling horror stories to her nephew to freak him out (Norah). In other words, we’re not exactly dealing with Kay Scarpetta-caliber professionals here.
Further complicating matters is the girls’ father, Joe (Alan Arkin), a dude constantly on the prowl for the next get-rich-quick scheme. You don’t have to be psychic to figure out that the apples don’t really fall far from the tree. Will his flaky tendencies endanger his daughters’ new business? Or will they surprise themselves - and us? And what happens when Rose and Norah find themselves giving comfort to survivors at the murder scene? In Norah’s case, she even goes as far as tracking down the daughter of a suicide victim - and strikes up a friendship with her. Does this friendship have a future?
And what about Rose and Norah’s lack of training for this kind of stuff? Will it eventually catch up to them? Will the nice biohazard supply seller named Winston (Clifton Collins Jr.) rat on them? Or will he and Rose hook up? Even if he is missing an arm? Or is there a silver lining in the offing?
And by “offing” I don’t mean “murder.” Because, then, Rose and Norah would probably have to clean up after that, too.
BUT, SERIOUSLY: There are some films that are about everyday people and events, but are given a unique spin - and end up somehow becoming larger-than-life because of it. SUNSHINE CLEANING is such a film. Even though the leads are two average women, the journey they end up on becomes anything but average because of the unusual nature of the vocation they choose.
Rose and Norah dive into the strange world of crime scene clean-up, lured primarily by the promise of an easy payday. As with most things in life, the endeavor proves to be far more complicated than they bargained for. But these women are layered and possess an innate toughness not easily detected under their seemingly flighty exteriors. Amy Adams and Emily Blunt do a wonderful job of gradually revealing these hidden layers. The evolution of not only their characters’ relationship from combative and brittle, to warm and supportive (if still occasionally combative), but also their solidifying connection to their father (winningly played by Alan Arkin), form the emotional core of SUNSHINE CLEANING.
Aside from the familial love story at the heart of SUNSHINE CLEANING, additional resonance comes from the fact that Rose and Norah find themselves unexpectedly providing comfort to the crime scene survivors. It’s this unforeseen role that makes what they do more than just a quick (if grisly) way to earn a buck. There is real truth to the adage that kindness of strangers can sometimes be a formidable (and unforgettable) force that transcends time. The fact that these woman are inadvertently a source of comfort for these people when they need it the most is something remarkable.
But while SUNSHINE CLEANING may seem like a quirkily funny (and occasionally grim) chronicle of a most unusual “career change” for two women, it is also about how these chain of events eventually bring together the Lorkoswski’s as a cohesive, functioning family. By the end of the film, Rose, Norah, Joe, and Oscar have all come a long way and are in a different, better place than where they started.
In the end, SUNSHINE CLEANING is both a valentine to the compassion of strangers, and the challenging but resilient love that exists between sisters, between mothers and sons, and between daughters and fathers.
