Clean

Clean marks Maggie Cheung and her ex-husband Olivier Assayas's 1st project after the divorce.

As i personally unable to catch Irma Vep, the French vampire drama which both previously worked together, i am unable to say how well Maggie Cheung has acted in French, but seriously, i am really impressed by Cheung's performance in her 2nd French film. Playing the role of Emily Wang, a rock singer's husband, Maggie presented herself in fluent English, French and Cantonese, her native language. When Emily was arrested for possession of drugs after her husband died of overdose of heroin, she was imprisoned for 6 months. After her release from the prison, she promised her father-in-law (Nick Nolte) that she would start her life clean, so as to get back her son. During this period, she worked in a Chinese restaurant as a waitress, and at the same time, she wants to settled down with a proper job, which was none other but related to rock music.

Clean focuses on Emily's journey to start life anew, with some scene where her father-in-law is helping her to get back to life, by convincing her son, Jay, to go back to his mum. From the film, we could see the journey Emily has been through, right from the help given by her friends, how she was treated in the restaurant, to the reunion with her son. Maggie Cheung has proved the fim critics that being an Asian female movie star, she could also acted well in this multi-nation production which gains her an Cannes. Nick Nolte, on the other hand, helps to enhance the film with his role of the forgiving father-in-law, who was there to help his daughter-in-law to get back her son, rather than blaming her for his son's death.

It was quite sometime for the Asian audiences to see Maggie Cheung as the main actress in a movie after Zhang Yimou's Hero, which was seen as a failure in Asia. While Wong Kar Wai uses Maggie as Tony Leung Chiu Wai's memory in 2046, where she barely appears for less than 10 seconds in the whole film, Assayas fully enhanced Maggie's potential in Clean, which is a delight to Maggie's fans.

Also, Maggie Cheung performed the theme song for Clean for the first time, which also thrills and surprises her fans. Unlike Madonna and Jennifer Lopez, who are both singer and actress, Maggie Cheung has never recorded an album before, as she's not a professional singer. But with the new try in Clean, not only we could get a chance to see her impressive performance, but also judge on her vocal in the 2 songs performed by her in Clean. By acting and singing at the same time in Clean, Maggie Cheung has not let her fans down.

Saw Clean today at the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival, starring Maggie Cheung and Nick Nolte. Cheung and director/screenwriter Olivier Assayas were present to introduce the movie and showed up afterwards for a Q&A session. Clean stars Cheung as the drug-addicted wife of a once-good rock musician who, after a tragedy, must clean herself up and set her life back on track to regain custody of her son from his grandparents (played by Nick Nolte and Martha Henry). Don McKellar also makes an appearance early in the film as a business associate of Cheung's husband. The movie moves between Hamilton (!), Vancouver, Paris, and London as Cheung struggles to redefine her life. Clean was a great movie, and it's easy to see how Maggie Cheung picked up the best actress award at Cannes this year. And Assayas even made a dingy, industrial shoreline in Hamilton appear as a beautiful backdrop to one scene of Cheung taking drugs to escape the conflict in her life.

Some tidbits from the Q&A:

• The script was written for Maggie Cheung by the director, Olivier Assayas. The two had worked together previously on Irma Vep, and Assayas wanted to find a story that would fit Cheung, but it took several years.

• Cheung's character in the movie is much like her real-life self, in that it is a character between cultures, with roots in many countries.

• Maggie Cheung likes singing, which influenced the storyline.

• Nick Nolte was not the first choice to play the grandfather; another actor had been selected, but shortly before shooting, his doctor called to say that he was ill and could not participate in the movie, and in fact died not long afterwards. When recasting, Assayas told his casting director that he wanted someone like Nick Nolte for the role, and it was suggested that he just contact Nolte, who quickly accepted.

• Assayas couldn't believe that Nolte was actually in the movie until he saw him in front of the camera.

• When casting in Canada, the first set of tapes sent to Assayas for each of the characters were all wrong, with the exception of the one for the grandmother, which was Martha Henry. Assayas said she was the ideal choice for the role.

• Many people who make appearances in the movie are real-life musicians, which lends an air of verisimilitude to the movie. Included are Tricky and David Roback. Cheung's husband in the movie is also a musician, and is currently working with Nick Cave.

• When casting Cheung's son in the movie, Assayas said that he must have seen every Eurasian child in North America. :-) He eventually picked a boy with no previous acting experience, because he felt child actors are generally spoiled and lack spontaneity.

• When asked about her realistic portrayal of a recovering drug addict, Cheung mentioned that it is not based on her own experiences, but both she and Assayas have had friends in various stages of recovery, some entering it, some in it, and some coming out of it.

• Assayas said he didn't want to sentimentalize the problem, and that he wanted to be more balanced and not have anyone purely good or purely bad.

• He was a bit nervous showing the movie in Toronto since much of it was shot here or in the area, and that the audience could easily compare it to the real-life version (in fact, one shot that is supposedly in Hamilton is actually on Bathurst Street in Toronto).

• For the festival, he is staying in the same hotel in which he stayed while filming the movie, which he found weird. :-)

So what does it take to win at the Cannes Film Festival? Well, Maggie Cheung pulled out all the stops for her win in 2004 in a moving film directed by her ex-husband Olivier Assayas.

Emily Wang (Maggie Cheung), a junkie ex-VJ, struggles in life after her husband, a famed yet ageing rocker whose career is in decline, dies after a heroin overdose on the drugs she had bought him. After serving six months in jail for possession, she finds her son, Jay (James Dennis) is put into the care of her parents in law, Albrecht (Nick Nolte) and Rosemary (Martha Henry). Knowing that the only way to see her son again is to clean herself up, Emily moves to Paris to rebuild her life, seeking help from long forgotten contacts. Meanwhile Albrecht begins to have a change in heart when he realises that Rosemary is dying.

Maggie Cheung's performance isn't easy to match with superlatives. Mastering dialogue in Cantonese, English and French, as well as singing the title track - she, unlike many HK actors, hasn't launched a singing career - it feels as much an honest, raw portrayal of Emily's character and her struggles to deal with the twists presented to her. Whilst Cheung and Assayas may have split amicably years before, I can't help but feel that their own history must have played a part in the making of this film, and if so, they used it well for the benefit of the film. Which is just as well, as I felt the overall script wasn't as impactful as it could be, particularly given Cheung's performance.

Nick Nolte's role is fairly limited. It's strange seeing him now as a grandfather, but he does it well - will we see a change in direction from him? This is a good film, and we will look back on it one day in an awards ceremony and say this is the one movie that exemplifies all of Maggie Cheung's achievements in one film.

Wonderful characters and beautiful images, on a plot that supports them well, without grabbing too much attention. Assayas shows great skill in timing and in choosing when to pursue and when to cut off a scene, delivering the smoothest storytelling and the most delicate way to bring characters to life. Balibar, Dalle and Tricky provide a rich, clever, contrasting universe where Cheung's brilliant performance and Notle's strong presence can shine. If a bit over-dramatic at times, the use of music is rather moving: no formal perfection, no bland, formatted entertainment, but the sound of real people pouring their life in their songs. Subtlety, sensitivity and humanity in filming life's meanderings make this movie a real treat. 9/10

Emily Wang (Maggie Cheung) is in Toronto with her rocker boyfriend Lee. They're both drug addicts and have a son together. Everybody blames her for his drug addiction. Lee dies of heroin overdose. She gets caught for possession. After getting out of jail, Lee's father Albrecht Hauser (Nick Nolte) visits her. She agrees not to visit her son Jay who is living with Albrecht in Vancouver. In Paris, she tries to stay clean while waitressing but she has become addicted to methadone.

It's interesting to see Maggie speak English and French. She seems capable. Her acting is fine but there is a grittier level that she doesn't quite get to. The indie style and her acting don't quite drop down into the gutter. Her desperation isn't visceral enough. Nick Nolte is doing his gruff acting. The movie starts in Toronto. Although I love Metric, it would be more cinematic to start in someplace more glamorous like New York. This is definitely the best non-Chinese dramatic acting that I've seen from Maggie. I kept expecting this to go to a much darker place.