So last night I decided to watch Sunshine Cleaning. A friend told me it was made by the same person who made Little Miss Sunshine, which turned out to be proven false by a quick trip to IMDb.com. You fail, Bregt.
Anyway, even though it has nothing to do with 2006's oscarwinning revelation of the year, except for a word in the title, Sunshine Cleaning manages to create a similar vibe. Ordinary people are put in an intriguing situation, and the viewer immediately feels connected to the broad plethora of personalities displayed in the movie. The context of the story is original and fresh, but quite simple: Rose and Norah, two sisters having difficulties keeping their lives together decide to form a small company that cleans up after dead people. It might sound morbid, but it's mostly a powerful example of getting your shit together and doing something worthwhile with your life. Make no mistake, however, this is not a morality flick, and the cleaning company context mostly feels like a playground for the characters to live their lives on. The film is extremely character-driven, and the characters are fleshed out enough to keep you interested from the first to the last minute.
That being said, I'll just go straight ahead and tell you that this is most likely the best film I've seen so far this year. It doesn't happen often that a movie can make me smile, cry and laugh out loud in the space of 5 minutes, but this one did it - multiple times. Without wanting to ruin everything, one particular scene (you'll know what I mean) had me tearing up like an emotionally unstable pregnant woman watching Bambi. Luckily though, the film steers far away from any kind of cliché or cheap emotion. The reasonably predictable ending (which I'm willing to forgive - just this once) aside, this film managed to surprise me on several occasions, and some exceptionally poignant parts might leave you gasping for a second.
Another thing that helps is that the two lead actresses both seem to be playing at the top of their game (both of them being utterly gorgeous doesn't hurt either), which means that while you may not agree with their actions, you'll find it quite easy to relate to the characters.
All in all this brutally honest film about life, loss and friendship (oh dear, that sounded WAY too sappy) is definitely worth a watch.
Nine out of ten.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment