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Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 88
    Philadelphia Inquirer | Steven Rea

    Clean, director Olivier Assayas' spellbinding study of a junkie trying to get her life in order so she can reclaim custody of her child, avoids the pitfalls, brilliantly. Read full review

  • 88
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    Emily is played by Maggie Cheung with such intense desperation that she won the best actress award at Cannes 2004. Read full review

  • 80
    Los Angeles Times | Carina Chocano

    Clean is one of those movies that's slightly off the mark in ways that are hard to put a finger on, but it is shot so soulfully and features such beautiful performances that it's easy to forgive the occasional false note. Read full review

  • 80
    The New York Times | Stephen Holden

    Albrecht brings out a side of Mr. Nolte rarely seen on the screen, and he gives a deep and touching portrayal of a haggard, beleaguered older man. Read full review

  • 75
    Boston Globe | Ty Burr

    Clean has the same mixture of human tenderness and borderline-silly Eurochic that marks Wenders films like "Until the End of the World." Read full review

  • 75
    Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum

    Not your average divorce gift: Clean's writer-director Olivier Assayas created the role of recovering rock-world druggie Emily Wang for his ex-wife, art-house/action-pic royalty Maggie Cheung (In the Mood for Love). Read full review

  • 70
    Washington Post | Ann Hornaday

    It's the moral journey of Nolte's character that is the real story in Clean, but Assayas instead focuses on the manipulative habits of an addict, resulting in a mannered study of narcissism and self-pity. Read full review

  • 60
    The Hollywood Reporter | Ray Bennett

    Complex but cold tale. Read full review

  • 50
    San Francisco Chronicle | John McMurtrie

    An unflinching look at the ravages of substance abuse, and it's also a sobering redemptive tale. Read full review

  • 40
    Variety | David Rooney

    Dramatically pallid and unconvincing. Despite being written for her, the director's "Irma Vep" muse Maggie Cheung seems oddly miscast here and is ill-served by an emotionally underpowered screenplay that rarely gets beneath the surface of the character's problems. Read full review

Looking for more reviews? Movies.com Critics Say:

Dave White

4.5

Dave White Profile See Dave White's Profile

[Cheung's] never not good. Read full review See Dave White's on MOVIENAME on Movies.com

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