Sunshine Cleaning is pretty much a textbook example of the 'American Indie' film, a low key drama about people finding their way in life with a touch of the quirky to go along in it.
Rose (Amy Adams) was the cheerleadering captain at school but is now struggling to raise her son by her herself whilst continuing an affair with her highschool sweetheart who is now married to another woman. Her sister Nora (Emily Blunt) can't hold down a job and is feel she has no direction whilst their dad (Alan Arkin) continues to lurch from scheme to scheme and fill is grandson's head with ideas.
The quirk comes when Amy begins a business cleaning up crime scenes and deaths, she brings her sister to work with her and leaves her son to his granddad's attention (since the boy was kicked out of school for licking everything in sight). Of course people learn lessons and find a direction in life.
Amy Adams is outstanding here both comfortable with the comedic aspects of the film and bringing a genuine sense of frailty to the character's darker moments. Emily Blunt is solid but given less to do as Nora but she does have at least one critical scene as she describes the moment of the family's life that forever changed things. Alan Arkin is solid as ever and Jason Spevack is fine as Oscar, coming across best when duping other kids in the sweetshop.
Now I think Sunshine Cleaning is excellent, whilst it may be fairly easy to say what will happen in the end the film rises above thanks to Adams' central performance and a script with genuine warmth and wit (the closing line is pitch perfect). Highly recommended, as it's one of those few films that I've enjoyed so much the first time I watched it that I watched it again pretty much the next day
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