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| Poster artwork for the comedy drama film Sunshine Cleaning. |
Bloody Business by Linh
Who
ya gonna call? Not the Ghostbusters but
rather the sanitising sisters of Sunshine
Cleaning.
Sunshine Cleaning is the latest offering
from the producers of hit independent film Little
Miss Sunshine, and is based on a real life story about two best female
friends in the Seattle suburbs of America, who started a bio-hazard
removal/cleaning service.
The
film follows the lives of two sisters from Albuquerque who set up a crime scene
cleaning service, which involves cleaning and removing body parts and fluids;
the cleaning becomes a metaphor for both of them in coping with their mother’s
death. Funnily, the name Albuquerque almost sounds like ‘I’ll be quirky’ or
‘all be quirky’, and Sunshine Cleaning
has exactly the style of quirkiness found in most independent films these days.
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CHEMICAL QUEENS: Rose (Amy Adams) and
Norah (Emily Blunt) stock up on detergents and cleaning gear in the film Sunshine Cleaning. Image: Madman
Entertainment.
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Oscar
nominee for the film Doubt, Amy
Adams, stars as the hardworking and persevering Rose Lorkowski, who is stuck in
a thankless job as a cleaner and subconsciously hangs onto her happy high
school years through naughty nights with her married ex-lover, Mac. Rose keeps
herself in control of life’s setbacks by reciting words of encouragement to
herself such as “You’re strong, you’re powerful, you can do anything”. When her
young son is kicked out of school, she is forced to find funds to send him to a
top-notch private school and avoid the “specialised schooling” the Principal
suggested. After taking on the advice of her ex-lover, Rose starts up her new
crime scene cleaning service with her younger sister Norah.
Amy
Adams shows her versatility, ranging in roles from the fairytale princess in Enchanted to a god-fearing nun in Doubt. She gives a wonderful performance
as a single mother who refuses to let life’s catastrophes (and Rose has many)
get her down, and delivers every line with outward cheeriness juxtaposed with
inner sadness. It’s her eyes that do much of the ‘acting’ in most scenes and
Adams cleverly utilises her facial nuances to great effect.
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CLEANING CREW: Rose (Amy Adams) and
Norah (Emily Blunt) spray and wipe in the film Sunshine Cleaning. Image: Madman Entertainment.
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Playing
the role of Rose’s slack and laid-back younger sister, Norah Lorkowski, is the
beautiful English actress Emily Blunt, who leaves behind any trace of
Britishness to provide a highly convincing American accent. She even pimps up
her Americanisms with hip Generation Y lingo such as “being a bastard is a free
pass to cool” or “huge woodie”.
Norah
was very young when her mother died, and it seems as though she is coping as
well as Rose, but the loss of a parent leads her to rebel against
conformity/authority and ends in lack of confidence in herself. She still lives
with her father and has no direction in life, and feels stuck in the doldrums
most of the time.
Emily
Blunt plays the irresponsible Norah with both physical and verbal aplomb. She
creates a believable slacker through her stooping as though she couldn’t care
less and feet-dragging as if nothing is important for her to attend to. Blunt
cleverly blends humour with her character’s grimness as it is likely Norah deals
with grief through humour.
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FAMILY FOOD: The close-knit Lorkowski
family discuss the new cleaning business (Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin,
Jason Spevack) in the film Sunshine
Cleaning. Image: Madman Entertainment.
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Alan
Arkin, who appeared in Little Miss Sunshine, is the positively charged Joe
Lorkowski, father of Rose and Norah, who continues conjuring up new ideas to
make money for his family. After each business scheme fails, he happily moves
onto the next without dwelling on past failures or upsets. Arkin’s portrayal of
Joe is superb and gives his character the upbeat optimistic fervour in the
film. Arkin may be playing fatherly roles in most films, but he always manages
to keep it fresh and entertaining.
The
film’s theme is death, which is a bleak and almost taboo subject in many
cultures and everyone deals with it differently. Sunshine Cleaning puts a positive and happy spin on a job that
involves the aftermath of death and some blood-drenched scenes are quite
gruesome and stomach-churning. Rose describes it as “we come into people’s
lives when they have experienced something profound and sad and we help.”
Removing
human body parts and bodily fluids sounds gross and looks awful, but it’s a
metaphor for both Rose and Norah in different ways. Rose has been having an
illicit affair with her married ex-lover from high school, Mac, and she cannot
let go of the ‘popular and prettiest girl’ image of herself in those earlier
years. When she finally finds the gumption in letting go of Mac and moving on,
it is analogous with a cleansing of emotions and mental anguish which remained
since her mother’s death.
In
Norah’s case, she experiences an awakening of her repressed sexuality and seeks
comfort in the company of new friend, Lynn, whom she found after ‘cleaning’
Lynn’s mother’s house. Norah finds a common bond with Lynn as both their
mothers are dead and her meeting with Lynn represents a change in life
direction and ‘removing’ herself from a current state of uncertainty and hidden
sadness.
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BLOOD BOND: Lynn (Mary Lynn Rajskub)
suspects Norah (Emily Blunt) is following her in the film Sunshine Cleaning. Image: Madman Entertainment.
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The
appearance of blood is found in almost every scene that needs cleaning, and has
strong significance in the characters’ development throughout the film.
Blood
acts as a symbolic image for connection, life force and humanity in general.
In
the film, Norah discovers Lynn works as a nurse at the blood donor centre and
offers to donate blood. This act of giving blood represents not only a generous
act on the surface, but deeper meaning is found when the blood and its
components (such as plasma or platelets) are used to save lives; the irony
being that Norah may again come across the blood when she ‘cleans’ for her
Sunshine Cleaning business. Therefore, blood can be given and lost, which
parallels life itself, that is given through birth and lost in death.
The
supporting cast is fantastic, especially Jason Spevack as Rose’s young son
Oscar whose cheekiness and curiosity lands him in plenty of trouble; Steve Zahn
is charming as the ex-lover Mac; Mary Lynn Rajskub (co-star in hit TV programme
24 with Kiefer Sutherland) shines in
her minor role as Norah’s potential lesbian lover, Lynn; and Clifton Collins
Jr. shows how handy he can be with only one arm as the store owner Winston, and
a possible future lover for Rose.
Sunshine Cleaning is an upbeat and
enjoyable film, with quirky characters fleshed out through marvellous
performances from the entire cast and a rocking musical soundtrack accompanies
the film.
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SUNSHINE SISTERS: Rose (Amy Adams)
inspects the damage while Norah (Emily Blunt) holds back the vomit in the film Sunshine Cleaning. Image: Madman
Entertainment.
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Director: Christine Jeffs
Writer: Megan Holley (screenplay)
Cast: Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin,
Jason Spevack, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Steve Zahn, Clifton Collins Jr., Amy Redford
Producers: Jeb Brody, Bob Dohrmann,
Dan Genetti, Peter Saraf, Marc Turtletaub, Glenn Williamson
Cinematographer: John Toon (Director of
Photography)
Original Music Composer: Michael Penn
Film Editor: Heather Persons
Production: Joseph T. Garrity
(Production Designer), Guy Barnes (Art Director), Wendy Ozols-Barnes (Set
Decorater)
Costume Designer: Alix Friedberg
Running Time: 1 hour 32 minutes
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