.jpg) By Dante' Maddox | After seeing the early promos, and looking at the cast something about The Cleaner sparked my interest. |
I just had a hunch that The Cleaner would be good, and after seeing the first episode I’m certain that A&E has a great show on their hands. The Cleaner stars Benjamin Bratt as William Banks a former junkie that has turned over a new leaf after making a deal with god, who he has regular one sided conversations with. The show has a lot going on and relies on an impeccable ensemble cast to pull off all the themes running through the show.
The Cleaner focuses on two aspects of William Banks’ life. His job as an extreme interventionist and his role as a father fighting to keep his family together after his own addictions threatened to tear them apart. We pick up with William as his family is still in the throes of adjusting to his life choices. Banks has a wife and two kids, who are all dealing with him and his relationship with god in different ways. The family helps paint William as a well rounded character, they expose his imperfections and properly convey the strain his job as an ‘avenging angel’ puts on his home life.
While his family keeps him grounded, Bratt really shines as William when he’s out in the field helping victims of abuse. Bratt really sells himself as a former user who is now on the side of the angels. I worried that his talking to god would be awkward in an otherwise good scene, but his monologs really work. Dealing with religion can be difficult, but this show boldly confronts the topic without being preachy or slanted. There is a great scene with William and his son where he explains the difference between praying and talking to god that really helps you get inside Williams mind and see the world the way he does.
The themes discussed in the show would suggest a lot of heaviness, and yes the show can bring you down in certain spots. However the show has to take you down a few dark alley’s before you see the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s obvious throughout the story that William has chosen a hard road that is not as rewarding as one would hope for, but it’s the hardship that makes the show so great. Benjamin Bratt presents a character that you can’t help but root for. You watch him interact with his family and you really feel his anger and frustration at not being able to just ‘fix’ everything. You get his sense of disappointment when he realizes his best is not always good enough.
In the end the show is very moving, but at the same time highly entertaining. The show does a great job of balancing its two aspects over the course of an hour. The Cleaner made me smile, and it made me sad, but mostly it made want to see more.
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