Review: “The Cleaning Lady” is a bit messy.

Posted by Liz Whittemore on Jun 4, 2019 | 0 comments

On the surface, Alice (Alexis Kendra) seems like a woman who has it all: a gorgeous apartment, a booming career, a stunning physique, and a handsome boyfriend. The only problem is he’s married to someone else. Looking for a way to simplify her life, Alice hires Shelly (Rachel Alig) to clean her house. As Alice begins to confide in Shelly about her illicit affair, their friendship grows… and so does Shelly’s twisted obsession with her new employer. It soon becomes clear that Shelly has motives that reach further than a normal cleaning lady. Shelly wants to cleanse Alice’s entire life and will stop at nothing until she’s done.

The most compelling part of the script is Shelly’s backstory. Monster creates monster. Rachel Alig is wonderful. Her emotional rollercoaster from moment to moment is fantastically played. You can see the anguish in her eyes. It will destroy you to know why she is the way she is. What isn’t so interesting is the affair and everything that surrounds that. The very specific choice to use white, yellow and blue in Alice’s decor and costuming is a strange one. It actually becomes a bit silly. I realize the visual parallel of the backstory and the ending but don’t fully see why it contextually connects. From the credits, I can tell a lot of time and energy went into production with cast and crew oftentimes overlapping. I must give major props to the makeup department. The prosthetics are incredibly well done, speaking as someone who has a family member with severe burn damage. The balance of storytelling, for me, felt off. I understand the need to connect with Alice but almost felt her scenes were too long and perhaps that Kendra was miscast. While The Cleaning Lady has plenty of enjoyable cringeworthy aspects, on the whole, there are still a few scenes that need to be washed completely.

RLJE Films will release THE CLEANING LADY On Demand, Digital HD and DVD on June 4, 2019.  Directed by Jon Knautz (Goddess of Love), he co-wrote the script with Alexis Kendra (Valentine’s Day). Kendra also stars in the film along with Rachel Alig (“Officer Down”), Stelio Savante (Starship Troopers 3: Marauder) and JoAnne McGrath (The First Date). RLJE Films will release THE CLEANING LADY on DVD for an SRP of $27.97.