Overview
A haunting exploration of a father's desperate quest for connection amidst the chaos of his mind.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- harrowing
- paranoid
- melancholic
- focused solo viewing
- arthouse film night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as a harrowing, uncompromising, and unusually honest portrayal of schizophrenia, anchored by Peter Greene’s powerful performance.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Peter Winter’s schizophrenia shapes the audience’s access to clues, sounds, suspicions, and daily encounters.
The plot centers on Peter’s attempt to function after institutionalization while navigating paranoia and the search for his daughter.
Peter’s search and the detective’s investigation overlap through suspicion, obsession, and ambiguous clues.
The film’s harrowing atmosphere and graphic, exhausting presentation place viewers inside Peter’s distress.
Films like Clean, Shaven, and why
Repulsion
shared harrowing psychological realism, alienated protagonist, and subjective paranoia
The Conversation
shared disturbing interior perspective, fractured perception, and uncompromising art-house drama
Clean, Shaven
shared bleak crime investigation, unstable subjectivity, and oppressive psychological tension
The Fisher King
shared intimate psychosis portrayal, institutional trauma, and powerful lead performance
Movie Details
- Director
- Lodge Kerrigan
- Release Date
- 1995-04-14
- Runtime
- 79 min
- Rating
- 6.5 / 10 (107)
Cast
- Peter Greene
- Robert Albert
- Megan Owen
- Jennifer MacDonald
- Molly Castelloe
- J. Dixon Byrne
- Alice Levitt
- Eliot Rockett
- Karen MacDonald
- Lee Kayman
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Clean, Shaven about?
- A recently institutionalized man’s desperate search for his daughter collides with paranoia, fractured perception, and a disturbing criminal investigation.
- What is Clean, Shaven like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Clean, Shaven as measured, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Clean, Shaven violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Clean, Shaven as graphic.
- What did critics think of Clean, Shaven?
- Critics broadly praised the film as a harrowing, uncompromising, and unusually honest portrayal of schizophrenia, anchored by Peter Greene’s powerful performance.
- Which films are like Clean, Shaven?
- Films with a similar feel include Repulsion, The Conversation, Clean, Shaven, and The Fisher King.
- How long is Clean, Shaven?
- Clean, Shaven runs 79 minutes.
- Where can I watch Clean, Shaven?
- In United States, Clean, Shaven is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home.
