Sunshine Cleaning

I saw the movie "Sunshine Cleaning" a week ago. It's about two sisters who, down on their luck, start a cleaning business specializing in tackling the nasty messes left behind after moments of extreme violence. I expected to like the movie, but I didn't.

There's a scene early in the film where a white-collar man, obviously having a bad day, goes to a gun shop looking to purchase a shot gun. "Ahhh..." we wonder. Is he looking to off his wicked boss? Has he finally come to the end of the line with his cheating spouse? No... it's neither of those. Taking a 12 gage shotgun shell out of his pocket he quickly puts it into the shotgun and without hesitation kills himself.

The next scene involves police detectives, including one who's mistress (the star of our show) has money problems. He decides to suggest that she go into the lucrative and well paying clean-up-blood-and-guts-and-brains business the next time he meets up with her at the local Motel 6. In the mean time this black comedy has our stereotypical gun-shop-workers nonchalantly discovering more pieces of our now deceased while-collar gentleman. "Ah... here's a little more of his brains over here."

I didn't like this movie. At its core it looks at the question of how people face the various and many problems that we all have. Our hero's father faces his problems through delusional dreams of making it rich someday. The main character's sister, a partner in the business, chooses to walk through life in a coma-like clueless state. Even our main character, though responsible enough to start a business and do fairly well at it, regrets her past but still desires the approval old girl friends and remains the plaything of his old (now married) high school boyfriend.

The people we don't get to know in this movie are the one's who choose to tackle their problems in ways that leaves a big mess: the murdered lover, the recluse mother who dies without anyone noticing for months, the white collar worker who has run out of options.

What horrible hopelessness. I wonder how many others in this world feel cornered like many of the characters (and victims) in this movie. And I certainly hope they are capable of making some better choices.

I must turn to the gift of faith in Jesus Christ. Even when we make pour choices in this life there is always a road back to Christ. He is the Sunshine Cleaner who cleanses us from our sins through his messy death on the cross. The more I live the more convinced I become that he is truly God's answer for us in contrast with the options the world leaves us with. "Sunshine Cleaning" displays many of the world's options. They are all dead ends. When rays of acceptance, community, friendship, and abiding love appear at the end of the film, however, you see a tiny glimpse of the kinda gift God gives us so powerfully through The Light of the World.

The world's options are a disgusting dead end. The options provided by Christ are a ray of Sunshine. Bask in the light and never give up hope.