Sunshine Cleaning comes from the same producers who brought us Little Miss Sunshine and stars two of the finest young actresses of their generation: Amy Adams, so captivating in Enchanted; and Emily Blunt, so regal in Young Victoria.
However, wh
en I reveal that this is a tale of small town sisters employed to clean up the mess left behind by crime scenes, it sounds as hard a sell as Amy's previous picture Doubt - Priests and nuns talking in rooms? Really?
But have no doubt: this darkish comedy/drama not only shares Little Miss Sunshine's offbeat charm but is also more affecting, with Adams getting my first vote for next spring's Oscars.
Adams is effortlessly convincing as Rose, an amiable, cash-strapped and rather lost thirty-something single mother, once the high school cheerleader captain, now in the cheerless world of house cleaning.
Her old school quarterback sweetheart is a married cop who meets her in motels. Although this dalliance is doomed to go nowhere, his tip-off about the lucrative work to be found in mopping up after someone's death could be the ticket to a better life.
'It's a growth industry', she is told, though it's also a gross industry as she soon discovers. However, she perseveres, especially as the wages will help pay for the private tuition her 'difficult' seven year-old boy needs.
It also means she can rope in her wayward wastrel of a younger sister Norah, another nuanced performance by British actress Emily Blunt who is increasingly showing Kate Winslet-style versatility.
No wonder Meryl Streep (Blunt played Streep's neurotic assistant in The Devil Wears Prada) considers Blunt one of the best young actresses she has ever worked with.
Alan Arkin chips in with almost a replica of his Oscar-winning father figure from Little Miss Sunshine and there's a touching performance of great naturalness by Jason Spevack as Rose's high-spirited son.
However, most of the sunshine in this film emanates from Amy Adams.
She imbues Rose with a sweetness, determination and vulnerability that is completely absorbing, and you should find yourself both caring and rooting for a real family simply trying to cope and get on with their lives. A small film with a big heart.
Sunshine Cleaning is showing at the Belper Ritz cinema. To read more reviews and for more information
click here.
