BOTTOM LINE: An odd and morbid premise is the unlikely setting for a feel-good, realistic character drama of two sisters who get in to a biohazard/forensic clean-up business; however, the resulting film is more a forgettable made-for-TV movie than a cinematic experience.

THE GOOD: Rose (Amy Adams) is a single mother in her early thirties who does not know where everything went wrong. She runs an average cleaning business and is sleeping with her high school policeman ex-boyfriend who is married to another woman. Through him, Rose starts getting work in the crime scene clean-up business which although morbid, pays a lot of money. She enlists the help of her slacker sister Norah (Emily Blunt) and together they set out to make a better life, but as you expect, not all goes according to plan. In many ways, “Sunshine Cleaning” is quite a nice film aside from its morbid plot concept, filled with a number of realistic character moments that should resonate with people. The problems that the sisters face, the anxieties and doubts they face are very human and real. As played by the leads Amy Adams and Emily Blunt, both actresses lend a credibility to their characters that goes a long way to allowing you to accept what they are up to. Alan Arkin is excellent as their quirky, opinionated father who gets up to a number of odd-ball schemes. The subplot involving Rose’s son Oscar (Jason Spevack) raises some interesting ideas, particularly in the way schools can misread the behaviour of children (a chilling moment is when the school principal suggests medication to ‘correct’ Oscar’s apparently bad behaviour). “Sunshine Cleaning” is a snapshot of a family struggling to make it through life set against an odd premise and in this respect, it is unique and somewhat interesting.

THE BAD: The resulting film barely qualifies as a cinematic experience; it plays more like a cheaper made-for-TV movie. Although there are moments that affect the lives of these characters, there is no over-arching narrative that takes you anywhere aside from the fact that as in real life, things tend to fall apart and not work. If that was the point of the film I could have saved my money on seeing this film and just walked out my front door to see that for free. The filmmakers attempt to make a more unique story with the addition of the crime scene clean-up business does not go anywhere either, particularly as the sisters end up losing the business after an unfortunate mistake by Norah. “Sunshine Cleaning” may be realistic, but that does not necessarily make it worth watching as a film.