Rijndri Load of rubbish!!

SpecialsTarget Disturbing yet enthralling

Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

Dirtylogy It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Antonius Block Maggie Cheung is impressive in this film, which showcases her as a serious actor and woman of the world, as she seamlessly speaks English, French, and Cantonese (and even sings). Nick Nolte turns in a fine performance as well. Unfortunately, I found the script to this story of redemption from drugs not as strong as their acting, often wandering, and Olivier Assayas's direction to plod along. I confess that addiction movies are harder for me to enjoy to begin with. The musical performances and soundtrack for such a film could have been better showcased, which, while I suppose wasn't the point of the movie, would have made it more entertaining. I did like the cinematography and panoramic shots that Eric Gautier gave us, but wouldn't recommend this movie without reservations.

krishna_rao2 I think the movie has been made with a good intention, however it is far from reality. The reason why i am stating so boldly is, i myself counsel at a halfway house, interact with them and constantly try to figure out what works for them to overcome. The role played by Maggie was Worthy watching, what i meant by commenting 'far from reality' is the movie shows a high profile couple addicted to heroin. Maggie's decision to give up drugs to get back her son Jay was clearly not portrayed well. If giving up drugs was so easy, i don't think anybody would like to be hooked on to it. A strong motivation surely helps, however cannot be the only factor for somebody to recover from addiction. The movie shows as though all her friends are concerned with her addiction and want her to get back to normal life, in real life, co-addicts are the greatest friends of addicts. A similar hangout place or a simple stress can trigger an addict to relapse, Maggie seems to miraculously win over everything in no time.

film_riot Is it possible to change? This question is a popular starting point for many film scripts all over the world. Mainly in Hollywood the answer has often been yes. As a film fan you maybe start believing this at some point, but I've not come to a final conclusion, whether or not it is possible. I think you can try to change the way you make your choices or you can get more active in taking chances, but you can't change "yourself". In Oliver Assayas' "Clean" this is one of the questions discussed and it confirms my thoughts. Maggie Cheung is fabulous in playing this woman trying to start a new life after her husband passed away through an overdose. When she is faced with the fact, that her son won't even know her when he grows up, she decides to change. And that's one of the facts too: You never change just for the sake of changing, there has to be a strong drive. By the way: Great film by Assayas, great performances by Cheung and Nick Nolte.

Roland E. Zwick To get the full, globe-trotting flavor of "Clean," one need simply note that Emily Wang is a Chinese immigrant living in Paris with her British rock star boyfriend, and that their child is being raised by the young man's parents in Vancouver, Canada. All I can say is that "Babel" clearly has nothing on this film when it comes to international story lines spanning widely varying cultures and time zones.Though a French film, "Clean" actually begins in the English-speaking section of Canada where Emily and her husband, Lee Hauser, both heroin addicts, are desperately attempting to jumpstart Hauser's fading music career. The couple seems to be patterned somewhat after John Lennon and Yoko Ono, since everyone around them seems to think that Emily's undue influence on him is bringing him down both personally and professionally. When Hauser dies of a drug overdose, Emily - who earned some renown of her own as a music show hostess on an MTV-style interview show on French TV a decade or so back - is arrested for heroin possession and sentenced to six months in prison. Upon her release, she returns to Paris, agreeing not to have any contact with her son until she can kick her drug habit and make a decent life for herself.As a cautionary tale about drug addiction in the music business, "Clean" doesn't show us anything we haven't already seen in countless films (and VH-1 specials) on this very same subject before. Yet, although the movie is a bit too scattered in its focus at times, when it is zeroing in on the things that really matter - Emily's attempts at overcoming her addiction and her efforts at forging a meaningful relationship with her young son - it is poignant, profound and deeply touching. The movie is blessed with a pair of outstanding performances by Maggie Cheung as Emily and Nick Nolte as Hauser's father, a kindhearted soul who believes in forgiveness and who offers a helping hand to a woman whose life, despite all her best efforts, is constantly teetering on the edge of disaster. Their scenes together, as the two characters reveal their fears, insecurities and even tentative hopes to one another, are both spellbinding and breathtaking, and show us what fine movie acting is really all about.