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Clean

  • 20042004
  • RR
  • 1h 30m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
4.7K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Nick Nolte and Maggie Cheung in Clean (2004)
Home Video Trailer from Palm Pictures
Play trailer2:16
1 Video
23 Photos
  • Drama
  • Music
  • Romance

After she ends up in prison and loses custody of her son, a woman struggles to assimilate outside her former life and remain clean long enough to regain custody of her son.After she ends up in prison and loses custody of her son, a woman struggles to assimilate outside her former life and remain clean long enough to regain custody of her son.After she ends up in prison and loses custody of her son, a woman struggles to assimilate outside her former life and remain clean long enough to regain custody of her son.

IMDb RATING
6.8/10
4.7K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Olivier Assayas
  • Writer
    • Olivier Assayas
  • Stars
    • Maggie Cheung
    • Nick Nolte
    • Béatrice Dalle
Top credits
  • Director
    • Olivier Assayas
  • Writer
    • Olivier Assayas
  • Stars
    • Maggie Cheung
    • Nick Nolte
    • Béatrice Dalle
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 41User reviews
    • 65Critic reviews
    • 75Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 wins & 9 nominations

    Videos1

    Clean
    Trailer 2:16
    Clean

    Photos23

    Maggie Cheung in Clean (2004)
    Maggie Cheung in Clean (2004)
    Nick Nolte in Clean (2004)
    Maggie Cheung in Clean (2004)
    Maggie Cheung in Clean (2004)
    Béatrice Dalle at an event for Clean (2004)
    Nick Nolte, Don McKellar, and Niv Fichman at an event for Clean (2004)
    Don McKellar at an event for Clean (2004)
    Nick Nolte, Olivier Assayas, and Maggie Cheung at an event for Clean (2004)
    Nick Nolte and Maggie Cheung at an event for Clean (2004)
    Nick Nolte and Maggie Cheung at an event for Clean (2004)
    Nick Nolte at an event for Clean (2004)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Maggie Cheung
    Maggie Cheung
    • Emily Wangas Emily Wang
    Nick Nolte
    Nick Nolte
    • Albrecht Hauseras Albrecht Hauser
    Béatrice Dalle
    Béatrice Dalle
    • Elenaas Elena
    Jeanne Balibar
    Jeanne Balibar
    • Irene Paolinias Irene Paolini
    Don McKellar
    Don McKellar
    • Vernonas Vernon
    Martha Henry
    • Rosemary Hauseras Rosemary Hauser
    James Johnston
    • Lee Hauseras Lee Hauser
    James Dennis
    • Jayas Jay
    Rémi Martin
    • Jean-Pierreas Jean-Pierre
    Laetitia Spigarelli
    • Sandrineas Sandrine
    Arnaud Churin
    • Store Manageras Store Manager
    Man Kit Cheung
    • Restaurant Owneras Restaurant Owner
    Kurtys Kidd
    Kurtys Kidd
    • Detectiveas Detective
    Shaun Austin-Olsen
    • Record Label Owneras Record Label Owner
    Jodi Crawford
    • Gloriaas Gloria
    Philip Ross McKie
    • Vancouver Police 1as Vancouver Police 1
    • (as Ross McKie)
    Calum de Hartog
    Calum de Hartog
    • Vancouver Police 2as Vancouver Police 2
    • (as Calum deHartog)
    Clare-Marie Grigg
    • Cafeteria Nurseas Cafeteria Nurse
    • Director
      • Olivier Assayas
    • Writer
      • Olivier Assayas
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit
    London-based Emily Wang gained minor notoriety from her VJ-ing on cable television. She is now more renowned for being the longtime girlfriend and pseudo manager of rock musician Lee Hauser, who seems to be on the brink of stardom. Those that know the couple believe she is a bad influence on him, and is the reason why he is a junkie. After Lee dies from an accidental heroin overdose and Emily is imprisoned for six months on possession charges, she learns that the courts have awarded custody of their young adolescent son, Jay, to Lee's aging parents, Albrecht and Rosemary Hauser, who live in Vancouver. A concerned Albrecht asks that she not attempt to see Jay for at least two years while she cleans up her act so as to give Jay a fighting chance at a decent life. Emily initially agrees, knowing that she is in no position to look after Jay. To regain her life, she decides to move back to her old stomping grounds of Paris. As Emily tries mostly unsuccessfully to become clean while eking out a living doing what she wants to earn money, which is primarily still in the realm of rock music, Rosemary poisons Jay's mind about his mother. Caught in the middle is Albrecht, who, out of personal circumstance, wants Jay to eventually have a relationship with his mother if only because he knows that he and Rosemary will not be able to look after Jay until adulthood and that Emily is the only other family he has. —Huggo
    • motel
    • jail
    • singer
    • money
    • junkie
    • 158 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Taglines
      • When you don't have a choice, you change.
    • Genres
      • Drama
      • Music
      • Romance
    • Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
      • Rated R for drug content, language and brief nudity
    • Parents guide
      • Add content advisory

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Lead actress Maggie Cheung and director Olivier Assayas were already divorced when they made this movie.
    • Connections
      Features Machine Robo: Winner Battle Hackers (1987)
    • Soundtracks
      Down in the Light
      Written by David Roback

      Performed by Maggie Cheung

    User reviews41

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    Masterful Performance from Maggie Cheung
    So what does it take to win at the Cannes Film Festival? Well, Maggie Cheung pulled out all the stops for her win in 2004 in a moving film directed by her ex-husband Olivier Assayas.

    Emily Wang (Maggie Cheung), a junkie ex-VJ, struggles in life after her husband, a famed yet ageing rocker whose career is in decline, dies after a heroin overdose on the drugs she had bought him. After serving six months in jail for possession, she finds her son, Jay (James Dennis) is put into the care of her parents in law, Albrecht (Nick Nolte) and Rosemary (Martha Henry). Knowing that the only way to see her son again is to clean herself up, Emily moves to Paris to rebuild her life, seeking help from long forgotten contacts. Meanwhile Albrecht begins to have a change in heart when he realises that Rosemary is dying.

    Maggie Cheung's performance isn't easy to match with superlatives. Mastering dialogue in Cantonese, English and French, as well as singing the title track - she, unlike many HK actors, hasn't launched a singing career - it feels as much an honest, raw portrayal of Emily's character and her struggles to deal with the twists presented to her. Whilst Cheung and Assayas may have split amicably years before, I can't help but feel that their own history must have played a part in the making of this film, and if so, they used it well for the benefit of the film. Which is just as well, as I felt the overall script wasn't as impactful as it could be, particularly given Cheung's performance.

    Nick Nolte's role is fairly limited. It's strange seeing him now as a grandfather, but he does it well - will we see a change in direction from him? This is a good film, and we will look back on it one day in an awards ceremony and say this is the one movie that exemplifies all of Maggie Cheung's achievements in one film.
    helpful•8
    3
    • leekandham
    • May 9, 2006

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 1, 2004 (France)
    • Countries of origin
      • France
      • Canada
      • United Kingdom
    • Official site
      • Official site (Japan)
    • Languages
      • French
      • English
      • Cantonese
    • Also known as
      • 錯的多美麗
    • Filming locations
      • Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
    • Production companies
      • Rectangle Productions
      • Haystack Productions
      • Rhombus Media
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • £4,500,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $138,711
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $14,953
      • Apr 30, 2006
    • Gross worldwide
      • $2,971,219
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 30 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby SR
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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