Clean

Clean is a film released in 2004 and directed by Olivier Assayas. It is the second one to date that he has made with his former wife Maggie Cheung (the first one being Irma Vep).

It tells the story of Emily Wang, whose boyfriend, a has-been rock singer, dies of a drug overdose. Emily is jailed on charges of drug possession and loses legal custody of her estranged five-year-old son, who is being raised by his paternal grandparents.

When she gets out of jail, she decides to rebuild her life from scratch and to become "clean" so she can win back custody--and, more important, the love--of her son.

Tropes used in Clean include:

• As Himself: Trip-hop singer Tricky plays himself.
• Cool Old Guy: Emily's father-in-law, played by Nick Nolte.
• Drugs Are Bad: Emily's boyfriend overdoses on heroin.
• Gay Paree: Emily moves to Paris to rebuild her life.
• Missing Mom: What Emily has been to her son, and no longer wants to be.
• Yoko Oh No: Many people in the rock scene perceive Emily as a latter-day Yoko Ono, and blame her for her boyfriend's fall into obscurity as well as for his death.