“Cleaner” (2025) is an action thriller that explores the moral and ethical quandaries of today’s world. It shows a group of radical activists infiltrating a lavish gala to send their message across. While doing so, they trap people inside the building and leave their futures at risk. So, a window cleaner decides to rescue those who are stuck inside. Daisy Ridley plays the cleaner, who puts her life at risk. Taz Skylar, Flavia Watson, Ruth Gemmell, Ray Fearon, and Matthew Tuck make up its key supporting cast. The film was theatrically released in February 2025 and is now available to rent online.
Spoilers Ahead
Cleaner (2025) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
Cleaner” is directed by Martin Campbell, known widely for his work on James Bond films like “Casino Royale,” “Goldeneye,” and “The Mask of Zorro.” Simon Uttley, Matthew Orton, and Paul Andrew Williams have written its screenplay.
What happens in Cleaner, starring Daisy Ridley?
“Cleaner” begins as a story about a pair of siblings: Joey Locke (Ridley) and her older brother, Michael (Matthew Tuck), who has autism. He struggles with social situations. So, Joey cares for him as best as she can. That is particularly difficult considering the nature of her day job. She works as a window cleaner at a lavish skyscraper in London. So, her job requires her to be tied to a string, daily, as she travels from window to window, making them squeaky clean. Her manager does not treat her kindly and expects her to only do as told.
One day, Joey finds herself in even more trouble when Michael is forced out of a care facility. This is the ninth placement he has lost, which makes Joey’s job even harder. Regardless, the facility manager let him go since he breached their code of conduct because he leaked confidential information about their questionable management. Joey can’t wrap her head around Michael’s expulsion and defends him. She also realizes that she has a job to attend right after. So, she takes him there and leaves him with the guard.
Why does the gala get ambushed?
Joey arrives for her job late, but her manager doesn’t care why she couldn’t reach on time. He assigns her a particularly difficult task at the start of her day. She gets joined by Noah (Taz Skylar), who seems like her good friend. She opens up to him about her stressful day and he praises her by calling her an inspiration. Soon, he gets pulled back up but she remains at her spot, outside a window. As it happens, people start gearing up for an upcoming gala. It is being held by an influential energy company that has accumulated a lot of wealth and infrastructure.
Geoffrey (Rufus Jones) and Gerald Milton (Lee Boardman) are in charge of this company. The gala brings all their close associates, who have co-conspired in exploiting the lives of a lot of marginalized communities. They are also joined by some of their employees, who, presumably are not a part of their cruelties. So, climate change activists decide to voice their concerns to the entitled guests. That’s why they decide to ambush the gala and make the executives come clean.
How does the gala get ambushed?
The climate change activists arrive at the function as a group of performers. They walk in with a mask and a robe, which helps them keep their identities a secret. No one suspects them since they show up as performers. However, they soon infiltrate the security room and kill Joey’s manager. The rest of them stay in the gala and hold the guests hostage. Joey remains stuck outside, unaware of what is happening inside until she sees an executive tied up inside.
Why does Noah kill Marcus?
The activists take off their masks and reveal themselves as a part of a well-known group. Marcus (Clive Owen), their thought leader, has confronted several white-collar criminals in the past. Similarly, he expects the energy company’s executives to come clean about their ecological crimes. The executives refuse to bow down to him and remain entitled. It annoys the activists, which also includes Joey’s colleague, Noah. Unlike Marcus, Noah does not believe a negotiation will help their cause. So, because of their difference of opinion, Noah kills Marcus.
What happens to Joey?
Joey desperately tries to alert the authorities about the hostage situation, to save her brother. Zee (Flavia Watson), one of the activists, realizes that Joey’s outside the window. Joey makes Zee lose control over her. Around this time, Noah kills Marcus and compels Zee to join his mission. He realizes that the officers are on their way to the gala. It leaves them with very little time to record confrontations from the company’s executives. So, Noah locates Joey and forces her to fire bullets toward the street—to distract the cops and to buy more time.
After the shooting, the authorities consider Joey as one of their suspects. Joey manages to contact Officer Claire (Ruth Gemmell) to reveal her true motives: she wants to save her brother and has nothing to do with the ongoing abduction. Claire trusts Joey and allows her a chance to salvage the situation.
Why is Marcus an activist but Noah an extremist in the film?
Officer Claire realizes that Noah has taken over the charge of the activists. While looking at his background, she finds his ties to the anti-humanist movement. So, he hopes to eradicate all humankind for their crimes against the planet. Along the way, he kills a group of officers even after they agree to his orders. He also doesn’t care for the employees, who were at the gala at the orders of their higher-ups.
Overall, Noah is presented like Joker is in the Batman films—an anarchic villain who wants to see the world burn. Unlike him, Marcus is shown as an activist, who believes in a better world for everyone. He also stops Noah from killing anyone. In the past, he might have been brandished as a terrorist by the mighty bunch, but his approach was not violent.
Cleaner (2025) Movie Ending Explained:
Does Joey rescue the hostages?
Toward the end of “Cleaner,” Officer Claire makes the activists believe that Joey is dead. Meanwhile, Claire helps Joey stay alive and get inside to put a stop to Noah’s madness. Joey tries to break a window but to no avail. Luckily, Michael finds her and breaks open the window with his toy hammer. He helps her get inside the building. They fight their way to the security room to get access to the files where executives confront their endless crimes.
As it happens, Zee realizes Noah’s plan to kill everyone inside the building, which includes all the activists. She tries to run away but gets shot. Joey fires at her shooter and enters the security room. Michael gets hold of the files while Joey leaves to find Noah. It’s crucial that she doesn’t kill Noah because it will trigger the bombs tied to the executives and lead to everyone’s death. So, she steals Noah’s watch, which would trigger the chain reaction.
At the end of “Cleaner,” Noah falls off a high floor and dies. Joey saves the hostages and exits the building. She meets Claire, who tells her to hide the confrontation files from the authorities—knowing the files will never see the light of day if she shares them. Eventually, these files get leaked anonymously and expose the truth about the energy company’s executives.
