Alexandra Sedlak is always just lovely in any of the indie projects she's in that have crossed my way. However, she's especially lovely here in D. Erik Parks's five-minute short film Cleaner, a faith-tinged drama about a maid (Sedlak) whose job it is to clean up everyone else's messes while struggling to keep herself clean from addiction. 

In five minutes, it's fair to say that Cleaner is a whisper of a film. It's a quietly touching film, thoughtful and reflective with a humanity that feels honest rather than the usual histrionics infused fare we so often see when dealing with addiction. 

Sedlak carries herself with a struggling sense of dignity, seemingly on the edge of breaking yet also with just enough sense of self that we believe in her journey and her infinite possibilities. 

Joining Sedlak, the always reliable Wynn Reichert is wise and tender as someone we know only as Man in White. That'll make sense soon enough. There's a slight edge to it, ever so slight, fueled by our own biases and perceptions of life with addiction. Charity Spencer rounds out the cast quite ably. 

Davey Hutchison's lensing for the film is warm and intimate. Again, there's a nice avoidance of histrionics with the story that unfolds feeling simultaneously incomplete yet wholly satisfying even at five minutes. The sound by Rhett Timmons exceeds what one might expect from a five-minute short. Shot in Franklin, Tennessee, Cleaner is a simple yet quite lovely short film worth a view if you get the chance to do so.

Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic