Cleaner
Directed by Martin Campbell
Written by Simon Uttley, Paul Andrew Williams, and Matthew Orton
Starring: Daisy Ridley, Taz Skylar, Clive Owen
Rated R
Runtime: 1hour and 36minutes
In theaters on February 21st

by Andrea Schmidt, Staff Writer

This review contains light spoilers for the beginning of the film

If Die Hard is a critique of globalization, what does a Die Hard critique of the environmental crisis look like? Cleaner (2025) tries to answer this question. Daisy Ridley plays Joey, an ex-military member and window-washer at the One Canada Square building in London. Survivor of an abusive childhood, Joey struggles to balance work and the care of her neurodivergent brother. Unbeknownst to her, a group of radical environmentalists have taken over a party for Agnian Energy inside the building as she finishes her late shift outside. Their leader Marcus (Clive Owen) threatens to expose the greenwashing lies of the enterprise by taking the corporate elites hostage. However, a member of the group, Noah, has embraced eco-facism and plans a coup of his own.

What makes Cleaner worth watching is the intensity the actors bring to the material. Ridley remains a compelling onscreen presence (Cleaner hardly qualifies as a feminist counter-cinema, but she gets more of a character arc in this 90-minute vehicle than she did over the course of the three Star Wars sequels). Matthew Tuck, a neurodivergent actor who plays her brother, also proves an onscreen presence to watch. Unfortunately, the always charismatic Owen, who had worked with Campbell previously on 2003’s Beyond Borders, hardly occupies a blip in the film’s running time. Films should, of course, leave the audience wanting more, but the baddie plot-twist leaves the audience with a much less interesting actor. Skylar’s villain is sneeringly competent, but does not possess Owen’s gravitas (and sense of fun with the role). In addition to Owen’s early exit from the film, several fantastic supporting actors are underutilized. Ruth Gemmell plays Claire Hume, Joey’s main point of contact on the ground. Primarily glued to a phone, she brings a sense of fun and wry intensity sorely lacking in the film. Ray Fearon (whom I loved as the Hot Misogynist in Fleabag) has a few lines as an agent named Kahn.

The film to its detriment does have an overly polished look and pacing. Perhaps, one could argue that the artificial looking nature of the film’s set and VFX work draws attention to the artificial spaces we as humans occupy. I’m all into the suspension of disbelief, but it does become tiresome to watch characters in entirely CGI generated spaces for the majority of the film. The script allows itself to have fun with a few more imaginative moments. I find the idea of a window washing sponge falling 18 stories and hitting a bicyclist completely terrifying. Moreover, what if a movie villain was really concerned with how many dislikes he was getting on social media (it’s already clear real-life baddies do).

I was hesitant about the politics of the film itself going in and still not entirely sold. Environmental and eco-cinema occupies a tenuous space. Not a small number of people going to see this film voted for candidates who are now enacting eco-fascist policies. Yes, one could argue these films generate awareness, but the production and distribution themselves are carbon intensive (and often funded by greenwashing companies). There are interesting lingering shots on the CitiBank, HSBC towers during several sequences. I wondered to what extent this might be a parting shot (literally) at those real-life corporations engaged in greenwashing or instead a bit of advertising to generate revenue for the production. I am hoping it wasn’t the latter, but would not be surprised.

Support MovieJawn Staff

〰️

Support MovieJawn Staff 〰️

Support Andrea Schmidt

With the death of so much print media and meaningful journalism, it is important now more than ever to support the writers and outlets you love.
If you enjoyed this article, show your support by donating to our writer. All proceeds go directly to the writer. Recommended donation is $5.