Cleaner

Joey, the fiercely outspoken title character in Cleaner, doesn’t make an easy target for sympathy. Her personal and professional lives swirl in constant overlapping chaos, much of it self-inflicted.

Yet we also see a more sensitive and humane side in quieter moments when she rebels against callous businessmen or stands up for those around her.

Either way, she becomes the emotional anchor by default in this slick but conventional high-tech thriller from veteran filmmaker Martin Campbell (Casino Royale), a variation on the Die Hard template that keeps the pace lively as the stakes escalate, but relies more heavily on far-fetched coincidences to drive the suspense.

It’s set in contemporary London, primarily surrounding a skyscraper that houses the headquarters for a powerful energy conglomerate.

That’s where Joey (Daisy Ridley) works as a window cleaner, although she’s on thin ice with her bosses for being late. As the primary caretaker for her neurodivergent brother, Michael (Matthew Tuck), though, she’s got a good excuse.

Forced to work late one night, Joey is on her scaffold as masked activists disguised as entertainers crash a fundraising gala. “We don’t want your money,” exclaims Marcus (Clive Owen), the group’s mastermind. “We’re here to save the world.”

It settles into a showdown between greedy capitalists and eco-terrorists with Joey caught in the middle as a sort of symbol of working-class oppression and despair.

Tension rises between Andre and his hot-tempered deputy (Taz Skylar). The authorities become involved by sending in a negotiator (Ruth Gemmell) who realizes that Joey’s unusual perspective on the incident might hold the key to ending it, possibly with Michael’s help.

Cleaner builds some tension amid the ensuing maze of cloudy motives and shifting loyalties both inside and outside the building. However, the underlying moral outrage rings hollow with a half-hearted examination of ideological extremism and corporate corruption.

There’s a perfunctory nature to the story, which lacks much character depth or thematic complexity. Unfortunately, Michael’s affliction feels too much like a plot device, with disruptive behaviors, sudden outbursts, and flashes of inspiration that seem more narratively convenient than realistically grounded.

Ridley (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) brings a firecracker energy to her performance that convinces us Joey ultimately deserves a break. A better script would be a good start.

Rated R, 97 minutes.