In the 1980's, Maggie Cheung was one of Hong Kong's biggest stars. But during the 1990's, blitzkrieg shooting schedules and the intense eye of the local rabid tabloid press had taken their toll on Cheung, and she cut back her output considerably. In 1998, Cheung married French director Olivier Assayas and moved to Paris, where she planned to shift her focus to music. The marriage did not last long, but Cheung and Assayas continued to be friends, and so she agreed to appear in his 2004 production, Clean.

Long on the precipice of international arthouse stardom, especially after appearing in several Wong Kar-Wai productions, Cheung's role here as a musician and junkie trying to stay sober so she can gain custody of her son garnered her enough praise to be the first Asian woman to win the best actress award at the Cannes film festival. But, as per the road Cheung's now-unconventional career path was now taking her, she refused job offers, and went so far as to announce her retirement from acting, with only a couple of small roles appearing in her filmography over the past seven years.

As a long-time fan of Cheung's work, one would hope that Clean will not be her swan song in the realm of acting, but if it is, it is a high note to go out on. Acting in Cantonese, English, and French, as well as performing a couple of songs, this really is a tour de force for Cheung, especially when compared with her beginnings in the Hong Kong movie industry in pictures such as Police Story, where she was used as a "jade vase", cast for her cutie-pie good looks rather than any sort of actual acting talent.

While Cheung's performance is well worth watching, the actual film itself is kind of a mixed bag. While I applaud Assayas for not using the overly melodramatic route drug-addiction and redemption stories oftentimes take, it often feels like the pendulum swings all the way to the other side, with very little of substance actually occurring during the nearly two-hour running time. The audience shouldn't expect (or even want) a scene where Cheung magically gets all of her problems taken care of, but it would have been nice to get some sort of real connection to the characters and their fates. As it is, Clean is a lovely movie to look at and offers solid acting, but in the end, it doesn't come off as all that interesting or fulfilling.

RATING: 6