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Cleanskin (2012)

Director: Hadi Hajaig

Time Out rating

Average user rating

8 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

In another context, a ‘cleanskin’ is a bottle of surplus Aussie wine sold on without its label: in this modest contemporary British thriller however, the term signifies a secret service operative in covert mode – or indeed a terrorist suspect previously unknown to the authorities.

Although sold as a vehicle for rugged Sean Bean in action-man form as an embittered British intelligence agent, writer-producer-director Hadi Hajaig’s film devotes equal screen-time to the character journey of Abhin Galeya’s radicalised Muslim student within an escalating London terror campaign. This highlights the interaction of emotions and ideology on both sides as the movie gestures towards character depth, yet the script has little idea what to do with all this material, deploying a flashback structure which verges on the chaotic and entirely dissipates the story’s forward momentum.

Bean is one-note (pretty much as usual, then), the performances prove as functional as the action, and while there’s enterprise to admire, the result is plodding, somewhat misbegotten, and never slick enough to sweep us along.

Author: Trevor Johnston

Time Out London Issue 2168: Mar 8-14, 2012

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User reviews of this film

Jon Ray said...

Posted on Mar 15 2012 11:14 Insight is probably the key here and something the film explores well. The motivations and convictions of terrorists are set out before us with convincing persuasion.
Sean Bean is aptly cast and, whilst his performance is far from a 'cerebral', he does what the film demands and does it very well.
There is genuine insight as to who influences others and how they persuade likely candidates to do unspeakable acts. The film shows us the degree of devotion, once persuaded, individuals can summon up. There are key moment in the film that are turning points for each character and these are delivered well.
Perhaps what the film does not do is rely on a formulaic approach (aside from the end game) and so therefore it is no Bond or Bourne but why should it be - there are enough of them around and far too few insightful films.
That said it lacks neither action or violent moments bu,t given the subject matter, how could it?
Blending the action sequences with the everyday is what makes the film more chilling than the aforementioned and, in that regard, sadly, closer to what we read in the press and have to live with daily.
Cleanskin 2 anybody?

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Dom Watson said...

Posted on Mar 13 2012 22:18 After watching this film I had fixed feelings. On one hand it was an interesting film with a plot that kept you interested but I feel it could have been so much better. In the first ten minutes I thought this is going to be great - a good British action film with Sean Bean taking to prisoners. But Beans character was never allowed to develop properly because too much attention was given to the terrorist. If you look at the film as a whole there was no real need to delve deeper into the life and feelings of the terrorist. The writer should have concentrated more on the story at hand rather than the flashbacks of the terrorist. The focus on the terrorist was boring and didn’t add anything to the film for me. I feel the film would have been a lot more fluid if the writer had focused on Sean Bean's character in more detail and had developed the plot from there. Instead the film focused too much on boring flash backs. The glimmers we had of Bean were brilliant but there just weren’t enough of them. Overall an ok film but could have been so much better. 3/5

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john said...

Posted on Mar 08 2012 16:58 gosh, isn't Trevor witty, with his little wine joke

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al said...

Posted on Mar 07 2012 17:25 This review seems somewhat harsh and I saw this film this week. I didn't find it 'chaotic' or 'plodding'. No, it's not a Bond or Bourne movie but it's a very good watch and nice to see a London action film with something to say for a change.

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frank said...

Posted on Mar 07 2012 11:04 Thanks for your thoughts, the people in charge of marketing Cleanskin!

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MCL said...

Posted on Mar 07 2012 10:31 I do not agree at all with the Timeout Reviewers review! This film is a fast paced action film that stands up well to its Hollywood counterparts. Unlike many a hollywood take on this subject however this film is thought provoking and introduces many areas of grey to the traditional good versus evil. If you want entertainment with some food for thought thrown in I would throughly recommend this film - enjoy!

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Matt said...

Posted on Mar 07 2012 10:03 A well thought out film that fully explores points of view from both perspectives of the terrorist plot. The flashbacks do not distract in any way and add to the clever character build necessary to understand a way of thinking.

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Paul Bancroft said...

Posted on Mar 06 2012 23:45 If they ever made a film of Spooks....

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