An action film where half of it takes place on the side of a building—it sounds like a tall order, but director Martin Campbell’s ‘Cleaner’ is here to serve this high-octane feature on a platter. Starring Daisy Ridley, Clive Owen and Taz Skylar, the film centers on Joey (Ridley), a high-rise window cleaner who finds herself involved in a hostage situation with radical activists. Joey has a unique set of skills that lends to her having to save the building and its inhabitants, including her brother.
To talk about the sky-high role and filming, Ridley sat down with Metro, delving into her character and the training that went in to creating ‘Cleaner.’
What made you want to sign on with this film?
First and foremost, it was Martin Campbell’s name written there. I thought, wow I love his movies—that was really exciting. And then I found the script very propulsive… you always hope that there’s going to be a happy ending, but for so long it feels so rocky that I remember thinking, how is this going to be figured out?
Then getting to balance all of that with the relationship I have with my brother [played by Matthew Tuck] in the movie, and the complicated nature of that dynamic. Plus the fact that Joey has made a lot of mistakes but spends most of the film trying to make up for them, she’s trying to take accountability for what she’s done. I just thought it was a really beautiful emotional throughline amongst all of the fun action-packed stuff.
Martin Campbell definitely knows how to build action films around characters that you root for. With your character, Joey, what do you like about her and what can you tease about her emotional journey in the film?
I really like that she’s upfront. It’s very clear from early on that she has made some real missteps and that she’s pretty selfish in the way that she lives. And of course, you learn over time that she and her brother had a really difficult time growing up. Her brother has autism and has lived in a place that means he does not have the freedom that she does. So the balance of that is honestly very relatable and probably very understandable to a lot of people.
But I like that she’s scrappy and I like that she owns up to what she does, and I like that it gets to a point where she says: It literally does not matter what happens to me, everything is in service of my brother. I think it’s a good fable. [With] us all, we assume there will be time to make the right choice next week or see the friend you haven’t seen for a year next week— you just don’t know what’s going to happen. And for the most part, this won’t happen because it’s heightened, but I like that feeling…the immediacy of what is the right thing to do right now?
What went into your preparation for filming? I know part of the time was spent on the side of a building in Canada.
We filmed some of it there, and for the most part, it was done in a studio. But I did have window cleaning lessons, and honestly, it’s so hard to do it without leaving a streak. And so that in and of itself is tricky. Then there were two ways you could do it: You’re either in the harness or you’re in the cradle, and even in the harness, it’s so tricky figuring out how you can get close enough to do what you need to do.
Honestly, whenever I see people up there, I think [they] are amazing because the thought of it actually turns my stomach. And of course, people get so comfortable with that height. But it’s also quite meditative in a lovely way. And it’s funny that she then has her boss in her ear who is so annoying while she’s just trying to get her day done.
And how about prepping for some of the action scenes that Joey is involved in?
I had maybe six weeks of training beforehand. A lot of it was getting the physicality and the understanding of how Joey moves. There were two big fights at the end of the movie, and I wanted those to feel really aggressive and gnarly and realistic for the situation that she’s in. A lot of that was feeling very comfortable with the person that you’re fighting with on screen. Then you really know each other and it’s like a dance of proximity.
It must have been interesting for you with filming—for half of the film, you’re acting on your own in scenes, and then the other half you’re fighting.
Yeah, it was. I had my hair, makeup and costume team who were amazing, [but] for the most part, I was alone. I always was talking to someone, so I could hear, and I always knew the performance on the other side. So, I weirdly didn’t really feel alone. But then when I was with people, I thought, oh, this is so strange.
Since Martin Campbell was a big factor in your signing on, how was it working with him?
I was in an interesting position—we would sometimes be filming scene 12 and then we’d be going to film scene 98 because of where the cradle was that I stand on for a lot of it. And of course, I knew what was going on in every scene, but I was looking to Martin to help guide me emotionally in those moments. He had written every single scene, what was happening, what had just happened before, what had just happened after this whole page.
So if we were going on to scene 50, he would have it written, which was amazing. It’s just that extra layer of knowing and trusting Martin. It’s tricky with such high-octane emotions and making sure to maintain that level of adrenaline. So having him there was so wonderful, I just think he’s an amazing, amazing director.
In terms of an action film, what stands out to you about ‘Cleaner’?
I feel like it’s a great British action movie, which I haven’t seen too recently. So that’s really nice. But I think with all of the films that we love, we watch for the action—but you have to root for who you’re watching and you have to understand why the people are doing what they’re doing. So I hope that this does that in that it’s a great action movie, but at the center of it, there’s a relationship between a brother and sister who love each other and are just trying to do their best for each other.
‘Cleaner’ will release in theaters Feb. 21. Tickets are now available on Fandango
