Sunshine Cleaning is about two sisters searching for happiness. It’s a dramatic comedy that puts Amy Adams, Oscar-nominated for Doubt, and Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada) as the sisters who find a way to make money by cleaning up crime scenes – crime scenes that are gruesome and bloody, of course. Rose (Adams) used to be the popular cheerleader who went out with the quarterback in high school. However, Rose is now in her early 30s and a single mother. She has a job as a house cleaner just to make ends meet.
Then there is her sister Norah (Blunt), who still lives at home with their father (Oscar winner Alan Arkin). But when Rose’s son is kicked out of school, she wants to send him to a better one. So, Rose gets a tip about crime scene cleaning, and the two sisters start their own company. Thus, Sunshine Cleaning is born.
Adams and Blunt work so well together onscreen. They seem like they could be sisters in real life. Their chemistry is great and their relationship seems so honest. These two actresses are so good and they are the film. You realize their mother took her own life when they were both almost too young to remember her face. Since then, Rose has been taking care of Norah and watching out for her. That has been a blessing and a curse.
This film is actually an uplifting story. Sure, it’s about murder scenes and suicide, but there is a heartwarming story in this whole mess. It really is about the struggles of Rose and Norah. Now, the crime scene cleaning pays the bills, but that’s about it. As far as Norah getting her act together and growing up and moving out of their father’s house, and Rose trying to take care of her son and quit her relationship with a married man (Steve Zahn), that deals with life’s struggles that turn into life lessons.
This independent film has a message about growing up and the life you choose to live. You always have a choice. Rose had a choice. Norah had a choice. Their mother made a choice. And you see where these choices took these characters and how their lives have been affected by them. But, it’s never too late to change paths. Rose and Norah are living proof. Well, living proof in the world of cinema.
Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
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