The Cleaner 2021

Buck Enderly lives in a Los Angeles neighborhood marked by lower socio-economic housing, sharing a cramped life with his elderly, frail mother, Sharon Enderly. Their home consists of a small cabin for her and a stationary RV parked right beside it, the one Buck actually sleeps in. A former car salesman, Buck now earns a modest living as a house cleaner for wealthy residents in the surrounding suburbs. Although he once bought the RV to take cross-country road trips, he never drives it and instead relies on a bicycle to get around.

Buck’s brother, Craig Enderly, is a local police officer, which gives Buck a wary shortcut into trouble when an errand turns into a crisis. Struggling with money and care for his mother, Buck makes a desperate move to obtain medication from a pharmacy by shoplifting, an act that draws immediate attention. Craig drives him away from the scene and, after speaking with the store owner, lets him go since the owner doesn’t want to press charges.

The search for steady work leads Buck back to the car yard where he once sold vehicles, but the owner is reluctant to re-hire him. A new opportunity arises when a nearby client, Carlene Briggs, asks Buck to help locate her missing son, Andrew Briggs instead of merely cleaning her house. She offers an upfront payment of $1000 to begin the inquiry, tempting Buck to take on the case despite his doubts about his own aptitude for a missing-person investigation.

Buck begins tracing clues in the local scene, including a stop at a diner where Andrew had worked as a cook before vanishing. The diner’s owner confirms that Andrew had collected a paycheck and then disappeared, and Buck learns that Andrew is in danger of eviction for three months of unpaid rent. When Buck can’t gain entry at Andrew’s apartment, he enlists his brother’s help to search the place, finding a tape recording of his mother singing on Andrew’s stereo—a detail that hints at his complicated ties to his family. A young employee from the diner suggests Buck widen his search to a nearby bar Andrew used to frequent.

Despite Buck’s growing doubts about his abilities in a missing-person case, Carlene increases the incentive with another payment of $2000, revealing that her motive runs deeper than money: she has a tumor and may not have much time left to repair her relationship with Andrew. Buck learns that Andrew sometimes drove his car and would drop by an auto repair shop, where a shop attendant named Hector confirms Andrew’s visits but offers little concrete information beyond passing Buck’s contact details along to Andrew.

The path to answers finally brings Buck to a life-changing break when Andrew phones him. They arrange to meet at the diner where Andrew used to work, with Buck hoping to deliver a meal for his mother while they talk. Andrew reveals he would not be willing to reconnect, citing the parenting he received from his mother and his stepfather as a barrier. Buck presses him on the tape recording, but Andrew ends the meeting and leaves in a tense moment.

Back at the diner, Buck takes a moment in the restroom before returning to pick up his takeaway. In a sudden turn, Andrew re-enters the dining room with a pistol, and an armed patron joins in, forcing a dangerous crossfire. The confrontation ends with multiple casualties—the diner, the staff member, Andrew, and the armed patron are all dead. Buck quietly retrieves his order and departs, trying to process what just happened.

The following day, Craig visits Buck to question his whereabouts the night before, warning that police crime-scene investigations are thorough. With Craig’s help, Buck goes to the local police station to explain that he was inside the diner during the incident, and he is cleared of any wrongdoing. Freed from suspicion, Buck chooses to seize his new sense of freedom and sets off on an RV road trip with his mother, heading toward Niagara Falls to begin a new chapter together.