Sunshine Cleaning

April 9, 2009 /

Sunshine Cleaning

Rose was on top of her game in High School.  Cheerleader dating football hero, she seemed like she had it all.  Fast forward a few years, however, and we find her in her mid-30s, still dating that same (now married) football hero, and working as a maid, cleaning houses.  This isn’t how she pictured her life, and her desperation and desire to improve her situation radiate from her every pore.

Amy Adams is amazing as Rose in Sunshine Cleaning, conveying her determination to somehow make more of her life than cleaning the houses of her old high school rivals.  She talks of a possible career in real estate, but when her family thinks she is taking classes, she’s actually meeting her married boyfriend for tete-a-tetes in a local motel.  But when her young son is expelled from public school, she needs to earn enough to send him to a private school.  Her boyfriend suggests she might make a lot of money cleaning up after crime scenes.  Not the bodies themselves, just the gory blood and guts type stuff.  Desperate for money, she takes on the task, and finds that she derives quite a bit of satisfaction from the job.  She enjoys the feeling of helping people in their time of trouble.

Along for the ride is Norah, wonderfully played by Emily Blunt.  Norah is Rose’s younger sister, a woman in her late 20s, still living at home with her father, unable to hold down a steady job, and still reeling from the death of her mother when she was a child.  Norah finds herself sucked into the stories of the people who have died, wondering a bit about their lives, hoping to somehow make sense of her mother’s death.

The screenplay was written and the film directed by women, which is apparent in how the story unfolds…if it were a more predictable film, a more action oriented film, the story would unfold in the sisters’ finding a large stash of money, or clues to a murder that they end up solving.  Instead, it’s a movie about Rose trying to prove her self-worth, and Norah trying to grow up in a harsh world.  A strong story about women, a wonderful turn on the standard ‘chick flick’.  I recommend it.

8 Comments

  • amuirin

    April 9, 2009 at 1:25 pm

    Sounds wonderful, and I really like the lead actresses. I was noticing your ‘currently reading’ book, and the name Thornton made me think of Billy Bob Thornton, and his horribly rude interview which is lighting up the internet. Did you see that yet? I give the radio talk show host, Jian props for staying polite and composed while trying to untangle the reason behind Thornton’s rudeness while on-air.

    You might wanna watch it, though Thornton’s bits are painful to see.

  • J

    April 9, 2009 at 3:19 pm

    Amurin, I haven’t heard anything about Thorton’s interview. I like much of his work, but he seems bonkers to me in real life. (Not that I’ve ever met him in real life.) I’ll check it out, though.

    AM, yes, I think it came out last week or maybe the week before. I went to see it yesterday. Benefit of unemployment. 🙂

  • Lalunas

    April 9, 2009 at 5:19 pm

    Wow, what an interesting topic and twist. I probably will see this one now that you have recommended it.

  • Starshine

    April 9, 2009 at 10:26 pm

    I saw the movie this past weekend, and I loved it!

    The only aspect that left me feeling unsatisfied was why Norah decided to leave town and where she was headed. I liked Norah’s character a lot, and was pulling for her, and I just wanted a little more closure for her story line.

    • J

      April 10, 2009 at 6:55 am

      Starshine, I wanted to know if Rose and the guy from the supply store ever made a go of it….they kind of left that hanging, too.