Cleanskin
a Fine, Contemporary Thriller
By
Kristin Battestella
It
took me a few days to watch this 2012 British thriller thanks to its
unfortunate arrival the same week as the terrorist events in Boston. However, the taught, gritty realism
here makes for a solid modern espionage film full of spy intrigue suspense.
Secret
Service agent Ewan (Sean Bean) survives a terrorist attack and the
assassination of his charge, and his superior Charlotte (Charlotte Rampling)
sends him on an unofficial covert mission to find the cell responsible, as
Semtex explosives stolen during the attack must be retrieved. Ewan and his new
partner Mark (Tom Burke) seek the perpetrator Ash (Abhin Galeya) – a young
English born radical and student – hoping to catch him before more threats and attacks
endanger London.
Unfortunately, the deeper Ewan digs, the more he sinks into the corrupt secret
agent game, and all the while, Ash gets closer to his next target.
Writer
and director Hadi Hajaig (Puritan) opens
Cleanskin with a weird sex scene and intercut
news coverage. It’s a bit jarring compared to the often meaningless in your
face action introductions we expect from heavy films today, but this smart
approach builds intrigue and allows time for all the pieces to unfold. The violence,
however, is intense once it happens – realistic, frightening, fast, and
shocking. Scenes feel longer and deeper because of the tense attention to detail,
and the complex technical talk, ordinance details, and political information
demands undivided viewing attention. Not all the information is given to the
audience at once – which can be a little confusing, since we are often too
accustom to having easy answers in contemporary films – and some action scenes,
tortures, and beat downs will be tough to watch, indeed. Cleanskin
places its intelligence above generic action thrills a minute. However, the
impression that is an all out action picture rather than a European political
thriller probably hurt its draw stateside, and the flashbacks showing Ash’s
history and the rise of his terror cell are mishandled. These critical
character developments should have begun the film or been intercut with the
opening scenes. It’s simply odd at best and bad filmmaking at worst to stop
your forward moving action and tell the viewers what we should already know. It’s
heavy, not often seen stuff, but this parallel backward perspective is not as
interesting as the more familiar secret agent pursuit plots. Pacing drags in
the middle as time is unevenly spent in one storyline or the other. There’s
material enough for more – two separate films, perhaps – but the mismatched
focus hampers both plotlines. Fortunately, the converging plots do come
together for an intense, excellent finale.
Rather
than some of these blink and you miss him crappy films, I’m so glad to see Game of Thrones star and BAFTA nominee Sean
Bean as a man of action again with a complex, mature character. He looks good
in contemporary leather and tight sweaters, and the short hair/scruffy beard combination
fits the undercover desperation. Though lethal, Ewan makes mistakes. He has a
past and doesn’t want things to get ugly, but he’ll do the heavy nonetheless. He
doesn’t speak much and is tough to hear at times, but he is damn effective at
scaring people into giving him what he wants. Ewan’s professional, but gritty, grey, and dirty
in his pursuit of these terrorists. When does one cross the line between
defending his country and becoming exactly like his prey? Bean is so seamless
in the role that one can almost believe he’s this badass in real life when he’s
not making movies! Some viewers might presume he is older and past his glorious
Sharpe days, but the soft-spoken,
unassuming, off the deep end secret agent seems like the part he was born to
play. While I like Liam Neeson and his Taken
glory and Zeus love in Clash of the
Titans, I don’t understand why Bean is continually relegated to being that
other Zeus for 5 minutes in dismissed films like Percy Jackson or the barely there King in Mirror Mirror. You don’t need to take those roles, Sean! Bean should
definitely be doing this type of quiet, thoughtful, action thriller much more.
Those who enjoy Cleanskin should also
see the 1999 television production Extremely
Dangerous, and his latest pilot Legends
– also a spy caper – has been greenlit by TNT. Yes!
Charlotte
Rampling (The Verdict, Stardust Memories,
Swimming Pool) also brings some wonderfully strong femininity to Cleanskin as a sophisticated spy
executive. Her usual excellence and grace is business suit imposing instead of Hollywood pretentious,
and it’s clear that this handler has her own motivations to further stir the
political plots. Tom Burke (Casanova)
as Ewan’s rookie partner makes for an interesting companion to Bean as well.
Though playful with an infant daughter, he has perfect, deadly aim. Cleanskin does have some brief TnA and
sex scenes, but prostitute Shivani Ghai (Bride
and Prejudice) is not exploited onscreen as is so often the case in action
films. We don’t even see her in lingerie, much less naked or kinky; but for
better or worse, the character is used smartly in the terror twists and plots. The
ensemble does a fine job in making the audience question who everyone is, if we
trust them, and who the villains really are.
Abhin Galeya (Wimbledon) looks
the part as main antagonist Ash, but Cleanskin
is slow to show him as more than what we unfortunately now perceive as the
standard Middle Eastern terrorist – again, his flashbacks should have come much
sooner to elaborate and build sympathy. Are we really to believe Ash does all
this over some bloke jealousy, the wrong English girl, and the charismatic
words of a radical leader? This past tense development comes across as too
easy, a typical, not heartfelt depiction, and at times, makes light of Muslim
extremists and any brainwashing possibilities. Is Ash a deadly, created trigger
or just an angry boy? Can one be both? Maybe, but Cleanskin’s presentation makes this point somewhat wishy-washy. For
whom are we supposed to root anyway? Perhaps that is the questioning goal of the film.
Cleanskin looks
the London
quality, too. All the UK
locations are grand, and the picture is bright and crisp. Us across the pond
are able to feel the city realism and see everything – not like the usual dark color
gradients and flashy, choppy editing. Instead of being over bearing and loud or
creating the need for constant volume adjustment, there are just enough themes
and motifs in the pleasing, but tense underscoring as well. It seems weird to say, but the violence here is
also good – shockingly realistic designs, explosions, and action sequences
rather than just gore for gore’s sake. Television footage and media coverage are
spliced seamlessly into Cleanskin, creating a quite telling and timely
aspect. It’s tough to watch the first time due to its subject matter, but Cleanskin really demands multiple
viewings to completely notice all the onscreen media and news crawls – this
picture has subtext, indeed. Some of the thoroughly British statements might be
missed by American audiences, however, and subtitles are necessary for some soft
dialogue. The blu-ray, of course, looks great, and there is a half hour behind
the scenes feature with lots of Sean Bean and special effects secrets.
Those
who don’t like action, gun violence, and terrorism intensity will find Cleanskin difficult, yes. However, don’t
let any misrepresentation trying to make this more thought provoking political
thriller fit into the American bang ‘em up formulaic action designs. I don’t
understand why Cleanskin hasn’t garnered
more attention, as it definitely fills the void left by the long running
British series MI-5. Truly, Cleanskin replaces the weaker final seasons of the show, when the
taught, gripping, and relevant drama ended as a knockoff of 24. I do fear this picture might be
offensive to Muslims in some of its extreme depictions, yet I’m glad films are
attempting to shed light on the often misconstrued face of terrorism. Bean fans
will certainly love to see him in this meaty if somewhat uneven and slightly
muddled caper. Despite the flashback flaws hampering its presentation and the
message it is trying to send, Cleanskin is
a gripping, must see contemporary thriller.
We’ve
raided the horror video vaults yet again in search of more frights and mayhem
from that irrepressible, diabolic duo: Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing! Their
upcoming May birthdays are the perfect excuse for a quick list of creepy, oft-scary
combinations, and warm weather horror.
Crypt
of the Vampire – I’m not sure
about his hair, but golly Christopher Lee looks young in this black and white
1963 foreign creepy also titled Terror in
the Crypt. While all sexy screaming ladies are dubbed, Lee’s commanding
voice adds to his suave count/pimp style – complete with monogrammed smoking
jacket, blonde mistress, and spooky castle.
Cool carriages, fearful forests, good gothic sets, candles, and mood
lighting help to forgive the weird narrations and fast and cheap production.
The time period is also some kind of 19th century – the looks are
effective but a little nondescript in establishing a year – but fortunately,
nightmarish innuendo, shades of skin, and saucy rituals make up the difference.
Billowing winds, creaking doors, and ghostly tolling bells also up some very
scary moments in the final half hour despite the relative lack of vamps or
blood. Interestingly, the family name here is Karnstein, and the female implications
are similar to the so-called Karnstein trilogy of vampire movies from Hammer.
Of course, some of this back-story might get confusing onscreen, and the poor
sound, cheap DVD quality, and foreign filmmaking hiccups might make this tough
for some. However, this relatively solid 90 minutes will be fun for gothic
audiences and Lee fans. 
I,
Monster – The DVD presentation
for this 1971 twisted take on Robert Louis Stevenson from Amicus is cheap with
a bad print, varying color saturation, and poor sound. Nevertheless, the experimentation and
psychoanalysis spins on the Jekyll and Hyde theme are intriguing thanks to
great debates at the apathetic Victorian gentleman’s club on good and evil or nature
versus nurture and the Freudian analysis on horror by the disturbed Doctor
Christopher Lee and the suave solicitor Peter Cushing. Though perhaps slow to start and the gruesome
mad scientist laboratory is not for feline friends; there is a lot of red and colorful
set decoration in the faux Hammer spirit.
Scenes with slick Dr. Lee and his lady patients are also wonderfully
ambiguous, racy, and fun to watch. Is he evil or just taking the amoral of his
medicine too far? The quiet transition scenes, silent-esque performances, and
orchestrated score ala the 1920 Dr. Jekyll
and Mr. Hyde show the viewer the suffering personality changes and freaky
progression of depravity with just enough horror make up and violence to
accentuate a scary death or two. Some
longtime fans may find this one a Lee and Cushing retread with the real frights
and gore elsewhere, but the impressive take on the oft-told Jekyll and Hyde
make this somewhat hidden gem worthwhile.
Tale
of the Mummy – Director Russell
Mulcahy (Highlander) assembled a
pretty impressive cast for this 1998 creepy – including Jason Scott Lee, Sean
Pertwee, Lysette Anthony, Honor Blackman, Shelly Duvall, and brief appearances
by Gerard Butler, and of course, Christopher Lee. Though not a big appearance, the
commanding and authentic Sir Christopher helps the period archaeology, dangerous
digs, and ancient astronomical threats build, and we know the high tech follow
ups and Egyptian mysticism designs will lead to some scary supernatural
elements and creative kill scenes. The then modern club scenes and hip music,
however, are very dated, and today’s CGI accustomed viewers may find the mummy
wrapping effects corny. The Egyptian flashbacks also should have started the
tale at its beginning, rather than letting several tomb discoveries and false starts
slowly set up events. Though much more fearful in tone then the action fun of
Brendan Fraser’s The Mummy, it might have
been interesting to see the action here remain exclusively in Egypt with
ancient curses and desert madness horrors instead of the London escape and
investigation. Nonetheless, the pace moves nicely, and I know I would have much
rather seen sequels to this than the Fraser continuations we did receive. Of
course, we can’t even give this a proper, restored director’s cut video release
stateside. Typical. 
Gerry,
Gerry. Gerry, Gerry, Gerry! I really sort of stopped following Gerard Butler ahead
of all the magazine covers and jet setting PR for The Bounty Hunter. It was obviously a comparable attempt with you
know who – cough Mr. and Mrs. Smith cough
– and it seemed just a bit too absurd when reminded of his off screen
dedication for 300. I saw all the tabloids and read the real life
romance rumors and thought, “Well he’s made it, and now it’s all downhill.” Sadly, the last few years have indeed been
rocky for Butler.
Whether he was willingly into the scene or led astray by the rumor mill, Hollywood has chewed him
up and spit him out – as evident by this very film. Now when Butler does make something of note, nobody
sees it thanks to his rightly or wrongly garnered notoriety. Is he that bad of
an actor? No. Does he have onscreen presence and charisma? Definitely. Even
here, despite the bad script and forced hyperbole, his Milo
is charming in the straight humorous antics, tracking mud on the carpet and
eating Doritos on a white bedspread. I kind of like Butler more brawny than
super skinny, and he looks great in The
Bounty Hunter – with enough scruff, action casual style, and some wet and
obligatory towel scenes. However, I’m not sure about his American accent here. It’s
not super bad, but there’s really no reason for him to not let his Scottish brogue
run free. Unfortunately, despite Gerry eye candy, I couldn’t wait for The Bounty Hunter to end. Not only did
this film not do him any A-list favors, but ultimately, The Bounty Hunter may have sent his career into a nosedive – from
which, Butler may have only recently recovered. I’m looking forward to seeing
the acclaimed but too little noticed Coriolanus
and Machine Gun Preacher, but Butler’s public return to
glory (hehe, “Spartans! Prepare for glory!”) depends on the box office success
of his new flick Olympus Has Fallen. Although I must say, I did
really, really like that one!
