Back to trending
Clean

Clean

Drama · 2004

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.

Movie details

Clean

“When you don't have a choice, you change.”

2004 Drama 1h 51m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.4 / 10

Community rating

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.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Clean?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Starving in Suburbia

Starving in Suburbia

Drama · 2014

When seventeen-year-old Hannah stumbles upon a website about Thinspiration--an online community devoted to anorexia as a life choice--she becomes an obsessive follower of the site founder, ButterflyAna. By the time Hannah's family realizes what is happening and get Hannah the help she needs, the disease has fully taken hold and Hannah is refusing to eat. Will this family be able to exorcise the demon of anorexia from their lives?

Jet Boy

Jet Boy

Drama · 2001

A coming-of-age story of a reluctant 13-year-old hustler named Nathan who will do whatever it takes to feel loved.

Things We Lost in the Fire

Things We Lost in the Fire

Drama · 2007

A recent widow invites her husband's troubled best friend to live with her and her two children. As he gradually turns his life around, he helps the family cope and confront their loss.

Adopt a Highway

Adopt a Highway

Drama · 2019

Russ Millings has just been released from prison after serving 21 years for a 3rd strike conviction for possessing an ounce of marijuana. As he tries to adapt to a world he doesn’t recognize – including trying to learn how to use the internet – he finds an abandoned baby in a dumpster behind the fast food restaurant where he works as a dishwasher. Unsure of what to do, and caught between impulses of kindness and panic, Russ soon realizes this could be his chance at redemption.

TalhotBlond

TalhotBlond

Drama · 2012

Thomas Montgomery, a married father of two young daughters, gets seduced by the world of online gambling and chat rooms where a virtual romance and sexual obsession ultimately leads to the murder of an innocent man.

Bob Marley: One Love

Bob Marley: One Love

Music · 2024

Jamaican singer-songwriter Bob Marley overcomes adversity to become the most famous reggae musician in the world.

Sherrybaby

Sherrybaby

Drama · 2006

After serving time in prison, former drug addict Sherry Swanson returns home to reclaim her young daughter from family members who have been raising the child. Sherry's family, especially her sister-in-law, doubt Sherry's ability to be a good mother, and Sherry finds her resolve to stay clean slowly weakening.

Burnt

Burnt

Drama · 2015

Adam Jones is a Chef who destroyed his career with drugs and diva behavior. He cleans up and returns to London, determined to redeem himself by spearheading a top restaurant that can gain three Michelin stars.

Fast Girls

Fast Girls

Drama · 2012

A street smart runner develops an intense rivalry with an equally ambitious wealthy young athlete.

Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody

Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody

Music · 2022

The joyous, emotional, heartbreaking celebration of the life and music of Whitney Houston, the greatest female R&B pop vocalist of all time. Tracking her journey from obscurity to musical superstardom.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Olivier Assayas

Written by

Olivier Assayas

Maggie Cheung

Maggie Cheung

Emily Wang

Nick Nolte

Nick Nolte

Albrecht Hauser

Béatrice Dalle

Béatrice Dalle

Elena

Jeanne Balibar

Jeanne Balibar

Irène Paolini

Don McKellar

Don McKellar

Vernon

Martha Henry

Martha Henry

Rosemary Hauser

J

James Johnston

Lee Hauser

Court is in session

Put Clean on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.