Zach Braff Takes a Dark Turn and Battles The Drug Crisis in the Intense Trailer for CLEAN HANDS
Zach Braff is stepping into much rougher territory with his new film Clean Hands, a new action thriller and drama inspired by an unbelievable true story.
Vertical has released the first trailer and poster for the film, giving us a look at Zach Braff as Sergeant Kevin Simmers, a Maryland police officer fighting the opioid crisis on the streets while facing an even more painful version of it at home.
The trailer puts Braff in the middle of a story that looks intense, personal, and far removed from the comedy projects he's best known for.
Simmers leads a police task force targeting the drug trade in Hagerstown, Maryland, a major stop along the so-called "Heroin Highway." His work has made the opioid epidemic part of his everyday life, but the job takes on an entirely different meaning when his 19-year-old daughter Brooke becomes addicted.
Brooke, played by newcomer Esther McGregor, initially becomes dependent on pain medication before her addiction escalates to heroin. Kevin suddenly finds himself confronting the limitations of the same system he's spent his career serving, as being a cop offers no easy answer for saving his daughter.
It's a heavy role for Braff and a major change of pace from his best-known work as J.D. in Scrubs and his performance in Garden State. He's taken on dramatic projects before, but Clean Hands pushes him into particularly dark material as a father watching his family get torn apart by the same crisis he's fighting professionally.
The movie comes from writer-director Jake Allyn, whose previous feature was Ride. The real story behind the film also extends beyond what happens onscreen.
Clean Hands was made in partnership with Brooke's House, the nonprofit all-women recovery home founded by the real Kevin Simmers in Hagerstown in 2018. The organization has since helped hundreds of women dealing with addiction.
That partnership became part of the production itself. Women in recovery were given opportunities to learn different filmmaking jobs through an on-set work program, while Brooke's House graduates were cast in the movie to portray people within the world of addiction. One-third of the film's profits will also go to Brooke's House.
Braff and McGregor are joined by Abigail Spencer, Holt McCallany, and Lucas Till. Allyn produced Clean Hands alongside Conor Allyn, Brian Loschiavo, James Suttles, Jason Winn, and JR Rappaport, with Braff also serving as one of the film's executive producers.
The trailer points to a raw and emotionally charged role for Braff, with the actor playing a man forced to confront the opioid crisis from opposite sides of his life. It's certainly a different kind of performance for the actor, but it looks like a great film!
Clean Hands arrives in select theaters and On Demand on October 16.