Old Stuff: Clean, Shaven
Quite often it takes a while to appreciate something. I remember when I first watched Clean, Shaven — after finding an old copy on DVD for a few measly quid in a second-hand shop — I didn’t really know what to make of it. The scenery was nice, but it was short and not much really happened.
After re-watching it late one night last week – it seems I used to be a bit of a moron. The film, (directed by Lodge Kerrigan, whose second film Claire Dolan is also worth a look) is in fact a true gem worthy of at least a few hundred words of positivity.
The basic story is that a schizophrenic man called Peter Winter (played by Peter Greene before he got typecast as a ‘bad guy’) has been released from a mental institution and is trying to find his daughter. He also might have killed a small girl and stuffed her in a big orange bag in the boot of his car.
Whilst it might be known to some as that film where Zed from Pulp Fiction tears off his own fingernail – this isn’t some daft gore-fest and, like the Marathon Man dentist scene or the bit with the drill in Pi, this infamous segment is just a brief slice of a film stuffed with potent imagery.
Mostly shot on an island in Canada (Miscou Island, if you’re wanting to book a trip) – the film features such classic roadside visuals as pylons, cheap motels and various dilapidated houses – the likes of which wouldn’t look out of place in one of William Christenberry’s family holiday slideshows.
Sound, the occasionally overlooked bedfellow of vision, also plays a huge part in showing Peter’s view of the world – with radio static and buzzing wires constantly invading his mind. The rusty vistas and scratchy sounds combine to make a fairly intense 72 minutes, and whilst it’s hardly lazy Sunday viewing – the best films often aren’t.
The relatively ‘low’ budget also adds to the appeal.
Usually when a film is described as ‘low-budget’, it turns out it was actually made for around ten million quid. To some bloated Russian oil baron that might sound like a drop in the heavily polluted ocean, but surely that’s still an absolute unattainable fortune that no one can ever imagine harvesting (never mind spending on vanity project like a film). That said, this film was reportedly made for around $60,000 dollars. That’s still a ridiculous amount of money – but it does seem slightly more every-day.
As a side note – have any daytime television game-show winners ever pumped their prize-money straight back into making a bold and individual work of independent cinema? Could a good run on Catchphrase, Pointless or Tenable provide the lump-sum needed to make the next Eraserhead?
But I digress. Clean, Shaven was made relatively cheaply and to be honest I don’t see how more money could improve it. I suppose the few practical effects could maybe have been done easier with a bit more dosh, but I don’t think they would have looked any better.
And anyway – making a dead glitzy, high-gloss film about a schizophrenic man driving around the rusty corners of a remote island in a bashed up old car with smashed in windows in search of his daughter would probably be a bit strange.
Roman Candle Magazine 