Indie film 'Sunshine Cleaning' isn't without clouds

    There seems to be a growing trend in cinema toward the unusual and quirky indie films with equal amounts of comedy and drama. In 2006, "Little Miss Sunshine" was the little movie that could, milking an $8 million budget to achieve critical acclaim and financial success. In 2007, teenage pregnancy replaced child beauty pageants as "Juno" propelled itself to similar success. This year, "Sunshine Cleaning" fills 2009's quirky-indie niche, but not as well as its predecessors.
    Rose Lorkowski (played by Amy Adams) was once a top cheerleader, dating the star quarterback in high school, but a decade or so later, she is a lowly maid, stuck cleaning houses for meager pay. The quintessential screw-up, Rose is full of potential yet stuck in a rut and full of regret. Forced to raise a child without a husband, take care of her indifferent adult sister Norah (Emily Blunt) and watch over her loopy father (Alan Arkin), she shoulders immense responsibility with no help.
    In an attempt to ease her pain, Rose meets up with her former boyfriend, now a married police detective, for their weekly motel room trysts. Following his advice, Rose decides to quit her current job and start a crime scene clean-up business with her sister Norah. Rose begins to move up in the world. Done cleaning the houses of living people, she now cleans the houses of the recently deceased for substantially more money. However, though her financial problems begin to dissipate, Rose's emotional issues still prevent her from being truly happy.
    Unlike the light-hearted "Little Miss Sunshine" and "Juno," this film deals with life and death on a much more serious level. The script presents the audience with ample humor, but the film's drama defines its comedy instead of the other way around. The best aspect of "Sunshine Cleaning" is the character development. Blunt and Arkin shine in their supporting roles. Blunt gets to deliver most of the self-deprecating and sarcastic jokes and also shows real emotion as the dynamic Norah. Arkin falls right back into the same senile old man character that won him an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in "Little Miss Sunshine." Adams portrays Rose with such innocence that the audience has to pity her, and no matter how much she smiles, her sad eyes reveal a woman completely broken down from the uncontrollable downward spiral of her life.
    "Sunshine Cleaning" uses death to advance the plot in multiple ways. As her life unravels, it becomes clear that Rose may have made her career switch for more than just money. At some point, everyone crosses paths with death and loss, so many audience members can relate to the feelings of the film's characters. Despite this, the movie's mature content prevents it from relating to younger generations the way "Juno" did.
    The movie runs into considerable problems in terms of storyline. With incredible character development, abundant jokes and a 102-minute running time, the film is simply not long enough for necessary plot development. To be an exceptional film, plot points need to be more focused. The ending leaves too many things unresolved and without any apparent purpose. This is not to say that "Sunshine Cleaning" is a sub-par movie, because it excels in many areas and is an enjoyable watch, but it lacks the depth of an Oscar-caliber work.
    "Sunshine Cleaning" may not be the next indie success story, and it may be a chick-flick, but it succeeds where so many movies fail. This film exhibits real heart and feeling and could have been absolutely great with a few minor changes.