Cleaner Turns Daisy Ridley Into An Action Star

Joey Locke (Daisy Ridley), is a woman facing several challenges in the new film “Cleaner”. She has been discharged from the Army and now must work as a window cleaner in order to support herself and her special needs brother.

When her brother is discharged from his care facility for hacking into the companies finances and learning some of their questionable practices; he is without options and this forces Joey to take him to work which is something she is holding onto by a thread.

While working her shift outside a tall building where a gala of the affluent have gathered; ecological extremists take over the party not knowing that her brother is loose in the building and that Joey is outside.

When a planned social message becomes a power struggle between members of the extremists and soon becomes a deadly hostage situation; Joey is forced to take action to save her brother, herself, and the hostages while making sure the police do not lump her in with the extremists.

While the film could be dismissed as a female “Die Hard” it is not the all out action film that one might think. Much of the film is actually character driven and has a very slow build up as the bulk of the action only takes places during the final act of the film.

While it is full on and intense; it is not the budget-busting Hollywood spectacles that have become commonplace and is a more personal and restrained situation as Joey does not take on legions of generic enemies at once but often has to confront smaller numbers and takes her lumps along the way.

While it may play more as a great streaming option versus a full-on theatrical blockbuster; Director Martin Campbell lets his star carry the film and she is more than up to the task in a role that is in many ways against type for her compared to some of the recent films that she has done.

In the end; “Cleaner” is a pleasant enough distraction as long as you set reasonable expectations and are willing to overlook some of the issues ranging from pacing to plot that hold elements of the film back.

3 stars out of 5