Contrast this with Emily Blunt’s Norah. Norah is the "cool" sister, the rebel, but Blunt plays her with a profound sense of aimlessness. Norah isn't lazy because she doesn't want to work; she is paralyzed by the lack of a roadmap. She still lives with their father, Joe (Alan Arkin), a schemer whose get-rich-quick plans always fail. Norah’s arc is one of finding purpose. In one of the film’s most poignant subplots, Norah forms a connection with the daughter of a suicide victim whose home they cleaned. This relationship forces Norah to confront the reality of death and the value of life in a way her party-girl lifestyle never allowed.

: A single mother and former high school cheerleader who works as a maid. She is desperate to send her son to a better school and improve her social standing. Norah Lorkowski (Emily Blunt)

In the pantheon of indie cinema, few films manage to balance the morbid with the heartwarming quite like Sunshine Cleaning . Released in 2008, the film arrived on a wave of anticipation, riding the coattails of the "quirky indie dramedy" trend popularized by Little Miss Sunshine and Juno . Yet, to dismiss Christine Jeffs’ film as merely another entry in the "kook-for-cooks" genre is to overlook a deeply melancholic, sharply written character study about the American Dream, the invisible labor of women, and the literal and metaphorical stains we leave behind.

Directed by Christine Jeffs, Sunshine Cleaning is a poignant exploration of family, failure, and the messy process of starting over. It stars Amy Adams as Rose Lorkowski, a former high school cheerleader turned single mother working a mundane maid job.