Cleaner Movie Review

Story: Former soldier turned window cleaner Joey (Daisy Ridley) is left stranded outside a skyscraper gala that activists have taken over. She has to climb the structure and outsmart the assailants to rescue her brother and the other prisoners.

Review: Martin Campbell, the filmmaker of Cleaner, goes back to his signature style of tense, high-concept action thrillers. However, the film never quite moves above its genre roots or narrative implausibilities, even as it displays his well-known penchant for vertical spectacle and tense scene pieces. The film is a functional but erratic journey, aided by direction and hampered by screenplay, and is anchored by a dedicated Daisy Ridley.

Cleaner, which is set in a shiny London tower, introduces Joey Locke (Ridley), a window cleaner and apathetic former soldier with a tragic past and a climbing obsession stemming from childhood trauma. A hostage situation arises when eco-terrorists crash an executive gala inside the building where she works in a perilous position that requires her to travel to the top floors. The only person who can help is Joey, who is stranded on the outside, especially because her younger brother Michael (played by Matthew Tuck) is trapped inside.

To be honest, the setup is unrealistic. The kind of corny idea that only works if the movie accepts its ridiculousness is a former military officer conveniently working as a window washer in a skyscraper. To a certain degree, cleaner does. Die Hard and even The Towering Inferno are obvious sources of inspiration for screenwriters Simon Uttley, Paul Andrew Williams, and Matthew Orton, who rely extensively on genre nostalgia. They take inspiration from these films’ structure and feeling of contained chaos.

Nevertheless, Ridley directs the movie with subdued passion. She remains serious and resolute, in contrast to the typical action heroes. In a movie that is primarily driven by gunfire and grappling hooks, her interactions with Tuck give unexpected emotional weight and brief moments of sweetness.

Even if it feels underwritten at times, their sibling interaction is one of the few grounded aspects of the movie. Although they offer disorganized opposition, the antagonists—led by Noah, played by Taz Skylar—lack subtle ideological differences. The movie teases internal conflicts within the eco-terrorist organization—between violent extremism and moral protest—but eventually avoids the moral argument in favor of more explosions. Clive Owen is misused and falls short of bringing the gravity his presence offers in a blink-and-miss role. Cleaner is ultimately a passable action film.

It is skillfully played, directed, and builds suspense to keep you interested. However, its shallow topics and poor writing prevent it from being more than a passable thriller. It is worth seeing for genre enthusiasts, but do not count on it making an impression.