Clean Slate
**Seen at the 2021 Atlanta Film Festival.
“Clean Slate” might be the most anxiety-inducing movie about the making of a movie ever made. I don’t know if it will ever find its rightful place next to films like “Heart of Darkness” or “Lost in La Mancha,” but Jared Callahan’s documentary is heart-wrenching because the stakes feel so high on a personal level. There are so many ways things could go sideways for Josh and Cassidy in getting their short film made, and almost none of them have to do with actually making a film.
The origins for Callahan’s film stem from him meeting Josh Litton and Cassidy Detmer at the 40th Atlanta Film Festival, and before you cry foul at this film playing the Atlanta Film Festival itself, let me just say that this would deserve consideration at any film festival based on the human story it tells. Josh and Cassidy have bonded over a shared love of movies, as well as the face that both of them are recovering addicts. They met at the A Better Way Ministries, which is a program for recovering addicts. While there, they come up with an idea for a short film based on their personal experiences as addicts, and the toll it has on families. They are on their way to making their film when Cassidy relapses, and as a result, is kicked out of the program; he was supposed to be directing the film. No long allowed at the facility, how will Cassidy be able to make this film, and what will the added stress have for he and Josh, and the other addicts whom are helping make the film?
Part of what makes “Clean Slate” work are the parallel stories it is telling- the first is about the production of “On the Fence,” the short film Josh and Cassidy are making; the second is just about the lives Josh and Cassidy are living, trying to work through the program, and keep their addictions at bay, while also giving us background about how they ended up at A Better Way in general. Callahan is adept at telling both stories and being respectful of the struggles both of his protagonists are going through; I think this movie is essential viewing for anyone who has ever dealt with an addiction, whether it’s first-hand or someone who has had an addiction. The only way this works, though, is if we want to see Josh and Cassidy succeed at both their endeavors. The access to both them, and friends and family members, help up get up close and personal with these two men, and as a result, this movie packs a wallop when film begins to roll on their movie. The suspense of whether they’ll succeed, and what might happen if they don’t, is more gripping than any other film production in history. I’ll leave the answer of whether they succeed or not for you to find out.
