I suppose it might be a bit of a surprise to base a drama/comedy film on the idea that cleaning up blood and brain matter from crime scenes could make a profitable business, but then again almost every television show these days involved some sort of Crime Scene Investigation unit.  So why not the cleaning people who come in when it’s all over?

That’s the new business direction of Rose (Amy Adams), who is a single parent trying to support her seven-year-old son.  Making a living as a maid for a cleaning service, while still having romantic trysts with her now-married high school sweetheart, Rose is stuck between the dreams of youth and the life she is now a part of.  This new business, suggested by that married boyfriend (Steve Zahn) seems to be her ticket to a real career. 

She brings in her rebellious and general screw-up sister Norah (Emily Blunt), and they make a go of it, undercutting the professional competition while Rose figures out what equipment, training, and licenses she needs to be fully legitimate.  She also gets help from their father (Alan Arkin, always a treat).  Aside from the welcome money, both sisters discover they feel different sorts of ties to their clients.  Rose is drawn to the family members left behind, and Norah is pulled towards those who have died (or, as often seems to happen, killed themselves).

There are some good laughs in Sunshine Cleaning, but the drama and emotion is always front and center.  It isn’t just the death and the blood; whether the victim is somebody loved, forgotten, ignored, or a “sort of do-it-yourself” death, the heaviness and waste of lives without love and companionship is focused on.  And in ways sometimes unexpected, the pain of suicide on those left behind is also apparent.  Sunshine Cleaning is not an overly-powerful film, nor a hilarious one.  But it’s good, mainly on the strength of the performances (Adams, Blunt, and Arkin make us believe in the honesty of their characters).  You won’t be overwhelmed, but I think you’ll enjoy it.