Joey Magidson
There’s a lot of ways to tackle tragic true stories. Sometimes, the sharper edges are shaved off in order to make for a more palatable experience. Other times, it’s all about capturing the darkness and grit of the situation. Clean Hands finds a middle ground that keeps a fairly dark film from being unwatchable in its grimness. Part of that is the movie having a pair of performances that overcome somewhat rote material, even given its true life leanings. The other part is that the flick does well to invest you in the characters early. In doing so, a bumpy ride ends up still worth going on.
Clean Hands presents two performances that make the film overall worthwhile. Without them, the movie would feel lacking, given that once the machinations of the plot kick in, you more or less can see where things are going early. If not for the acting on display, you wouldn’t want to subject yourself to the tragic material, nor would it be interesting enough to watch.
The film, which is based on a true story, follows Sergeant Kevin Simmers (Zach Braff), who leads a drug task force in Hagerstown, Maryland. Waging a person to person war on drugs in the town, which is known as a major stop on the “Heroin Highway,” means some hard days at work. Still, he manages to keep a sense of humor about him, even building some bonds within the trouble community At home, however, it’s a different story. There, he’s a father dealing with his teenage daughter Brooke’s (Esther McGregor) escalating drug addiction.
As Brooke escalates from abusing pain medication to heroin, Kevin tries everything to help his daughter. Forced to confront the failures of the system he’s spent his adult life defending and enforcing, he has a bit of a reckoning. Where this all leads is not unexpected, but it’s no less powerful watching it unfold, especially as we quickly get invested in Brooke and Kevin.
Zach Braff gets to stretch with one of the more unique roles of his career, while Esther McGregor gets a breakout showcase. Braff has never really done action before, so while this is largely a drama, watching him pull a gun or chase a perp is a novelty for the actor. He’s also very solid here, emoting and suffering as his daughter goes down a dark rabbit hole. As for McGregor, this is tough material that she aces. This work should put her on the radar of Hollywood in a major way. The supporting cast includes Holt McCallany, E. Roger Mitchell, Abigail Spencer, Lucas Till, and more.
Filmmaker Jake Allyn has a worthwhile story to tell, it’s just done in a fairly bland way, so he’s saved by his leads. The script shows a lot of personality in the opening scene, but that rhythm, as well as that cleverness, doesn’t remain, as it becomes a grim drama from then on. Still, Allyn hits the correct and expected beats. He just doesn’t add much to it. The same goes for his direction, which gets the job done, but could have used some tightening up. Allyn should be very thankful for Braff and McGregor.
Clean Hands is worth watching due to Zach Braff and Esther McGregor, as well as for anyone who’s invested in the true story. It’s a downer of a story, to be fair, but watching Braff do something different and McGregor break out is enough to take this one over the finish line.
SCORE: ★★★
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