Clean, Shaven

Peter Winter is a young schizophrenic who is desperately trying to get his daughter back from her adoptive family. He attempts to function in a world that, for him, is filled with strange voices, electrical noise, disconcerting images, and jarringly sudden emotional shifts. I do not believe this is a very well-known film. I say this because despite it being released by the prestigious Criterion Collection, it was not a title I was familiar with. And I like to think I know movies. (maybe this is naiveté.) Although this went under the radar, I think it deserves a look by anyone who is interested in mental illness, especially as depicted on film. This is not sappy, or starring Sean Penn, or anything we might expect from Hollywood. this is a serious attempt to show the problems the mentally ill face... and it does not leave room for too much happiness.

Clean, Shaven_720p(480P)

source: Clean, Shaven

It took me a few viewing to get into this movie, and my biggest gripe was that the film left the issue of Peter's involvement in a rather disturbing murder unanswered. *SPOILER! Don't read any further unless you've seen the movie* The little girl is murdered at some point when Peter is staying at the hotel. It shows him lying in bed looking up at the ceiling, abruptly cutting to a shot of an unseen assailant beating the girl to death. This seems to imply Peter was involved, however right after this there is a scene where Peter hears, outside his hotel room, the sound of people laughing. Since it is established that Peter constantly hears strange noises, you don't know if this is real or not.Prior to all this is a scene where an older woman (mother or sister) is cross with the girl, threatening to hurt her. Later, when McNally is questioning the maintenance guy over the phone, the guy is not the least bit disturbed he found the battered body of a child, but rather complains to McNally that she smelled so bad he couldn't continue working. In the last few minutes, McNally is seen on the phone saying "Inconclusive?". I took from this part he was talking to his department and they were telling him there was not enough evidence to connect Peter with the murder, thus his findings were inconclusive. In the next scene, McNally is back in the bar, and sitting nearby is a man and woman. The woman is upset, crying, and the man tells her she's like a broken record. I think these two are the angry woman and maintenance guy from the hotel, and that they were the killers, since earlier in the film it was established neither have any real regard for the dead girl. It is a quick shot, almost a throwaway, but look for it the next time you watch the film. Peter's possible guilt as a child killer / abuser is also implied when he beats the girl in the city for accidentally bumping his car. The beating is never seen, only heard, and right after Peter drives away from this there are people on the sidewalk who don't act like they've just seen a man beat up a small girl. This leads me to think this whole incident was in Peter's mind. Anyway, just my two cents. Thanks for reading. Hope I'm not just repeating stuff Lodge Kerrigan says in the commentary, I've not yet seen the DVD. Scott

A scary, sad and terribly depressing movie. All of the performances are extremely true-to-life. The only thing I felt hurt this movie was the pacing, which was irregular at certain points. The camera work was very unusual. If you've ever wanted a glimpse inside the head of a schizophrenic (which I doubt), this is the film. This movie dares to deal with subject matter that Hollywood would normally never touch. It is not an entertaining film and is extremely difficult to watch, but everything that happened in the movie could easily happen in "real life." There is nothing phony here, nothing pretensive, just an incredibly realistic portrayal of the pain of everyday life, and especially the pain of one young schizophrenic man. I gave this movie 7/10 for its pacing and somewhat weak plot, yet in a sense it deserves a much higher rating. I gave it 7/10 because I didn't enjoy it... yet it was difficult to tear my eyes away at times. The last 30 minutes of the film are the best... the pacing improves, and the story is at last resolved. I breathed a sigh of relief when this movie ended. This kind of gritty realism is just too hard to watch, but its uncompromising honesty is worthy of a great deal of credit. Painful and difficult to watch, but if you like a film that is utterly honest and doesn't play with your emotions, I recommend you see it. Not for the faint of heart, though.

Allright, it's not in the same category as Preminger, Lang, Ford or Reed, but still, this is an incredible use of sound, music, actors and minimalist camera action... If Bresson was American, he would maybe not even top that! The only movie that stands comparison to this one would in my opinion be Philip Ridley's The Mirror. Try to see it in a movie- theatre, then buy the tape or the DVD... Just watch the scene when the cop realizes he had it all wrong, the final ghostly scene with the daughter and the radio, the scene between Peter Greene (could it get better? maybe not even William Fichtner!) and his mother at the table. So much, so much... Clare Dolan (Kerrigan's second film) was great (opening credit sequence!), but maybe less scary.

I popped this thing in the vcr with pretty high expectations and was let down almost immediately. This film goes in too many directions that lend nothing to the overall narrative. I don't know much about schizophrenia, but this seemed way too over the top. The generic sub-plots are just plain ridiculous. The only interesting part of this movie was going on imdb afterwards and going, "That WAS Zed from Pulp Fiction."

I will never forget this movie - it chills me every time I see it. What I like most about it is that it contains very little dialogue (unlike "Cube") and is not very visually stylish (unlike "Pi"); the buzzes, static, and blurred radio broadcasts allow direct access into the protagonist's schizophrenic mind as he tries to remain somewhat sane while searching for his daughter given up for adoption by his mother. Peter Greene gives a stunning performance. Only a slightly formulaic ending mars this intense work of art; I cannot wait to see what director Lodge Kerrigan does next.

one of my alltime-favorites!! I´ve seen it years ago and it still haunts me. this is what real film-making is about, this is how it is supposed to be. lodge kerrigan is a true master, and it´s a pity he hasn´t done anything in years, except CLAIRE DOLAN which is true genius as well. peter "zed" greene gives a landmark performance and it seems that he suffers the same fate like malcolm mcdowell after CLOCKWORK ORANGE: being one of the best but underrated actors of his time but without a second chance to prove it. anyway, if you wanna "feel" - not just see - what mental illness is all about, check this out.

I don't think this movie tried to tell a story and gave a message to audiences. It just focuses on a story of a men in a short period of time and movie is far far away from telling us whats really going on. So i think maybe it doesn't tell anything to us, because there is nothing interesting to tell and it is not worth telling. So maybe director choose to tell nothing., because he knows that if he try to tell the story with details, it is only going to be worser. And because it is not a pop corn movie or it is not a movie you can watch without taking a breath till the end, it only wastes your time and gives nothing at the end. You can get bored especially when movie is close to end. Two things i like about this movie are the main actor of the movie and the beginning of the movie. I don't advice you to watch this movie. Especially if you aren't a huge movie lover.