Based on an unbelievable true story, Clean Hands revolves around Sergeant Kevin Simmers (Zach Braff), who leads a task force waging war on drugs in Hagerstown, Maryland, a major stop on the "Heroin Highway." At home, he’s a desperate father grappling with his 19-year-old daughter Brooke's (Esther McGregor) escalating addiction from pain meds to heroin.
As Kevin is forced to confront the failures of the system he dedicated his life to defending, together father and daughter fight for recovery, redemption, and hope. Clean Hands arrives in select theaters and on-demand October 16.
The film is superb, and was made in partnership with Brooke's House, a non-profit, all-women recovery home that Simmers created and currently runs in Hagerstown. It's an emotionally gruelling story, but the father/daughter relationship at its core is also surprisingly funny, with moments of warmth and humour helping to make the tragedy at the heart of the movie hit even harder.
For Braff, getting to know the real Kevin proved invaluable, particularly when it came to portraying a father's anguish and rage as he fought to have his daughter's story heard. McGregor, meanwhile, found herself tackling some incredibly difficult material.
We recently spoke with both stars about bringing that complicated father-daughter dynamic to life, the improvised moments that made it into the finished movie, and the remarkable experience of having people from the real story involved in the production. They also opened up about filming the courtroom scene that left Braff in tears and how McGregor learned to let go of Brooke's trauma once the cameras stopped rolling.
You can check out our full interview with Zach and Esther in the player below.
I found this film so moving, particularly the relationship between Kevin and Brooke. It’s so complex. And I’d love to know: how did you both work together to find that father-daughter dynamic before you arrived on set? And then how did it evolve as filming continued?
Zach: Well, we shot a very quick schedule, and so we had the information that they were—you know, because Kevin was on set almost every day—that they were so close. They were just like our characters in the movie, and they joked a lot, and he teased her, and she teased back, and that’s what Jake really captured in the script. And now Esther and I—I had only seen her audition, and it was magnificent, and we cast her pretty much on the spot—and then we had to just jump in. It wasn’t like one of those movies where you have rehearsals. We just met each other. And thank God—I mean, I think the reason the movie works is we just got along fabulously.
We just cracked each other up, and we fell into those sort of roles of teasing each other and laughing. And then even in the dramatic stuff, you know, it’s so hard if you don’t find a way to have a break and a release. And one thing Esther and I both really added once we got to know Kevin was some humour in there, even amongst the darkness. I said to Jake, "Gosh, now that I know Kevin, he’s so funny, and everyone around him says he’s constantly teasing people and breaking balls, as they say—or taking the piss, as your people say—we need to add that." And so Esther and I would riff a lot of just sort of stuff, and Jake was so generous in letting us play around and improv. And then a lot of that stuff made it in, and I’m so happy because it sort of softened the edges of the tragedy, I think.
Esther: Yeah, it was brilliant. Zach made me laugh a lot in moments that are very dark. But I think that, as you said, it was an effortless kind of click, thank God. We just really got along immediately and very quickly started taking the piss out of each other, which was also very important and great. But a lot of those little funny moments—Zach is such an amazing comedian. He’s got comedy running through his veins as much as drama. But it was really fun because you would catch me off guard all the time and I’d be like, "Oh, that was funny. Let’s do that again."
Zach: But it was great when I got her to really laugh, and then Jake would put that in the script. So there are moments where Esther is just as Esther, genuinely laughing, which is such a beautiful counterbalance to the tragedy of this movie. And I think it’s one of the reasons it makes it really special—not only do you have the release, but that was their relationship. They were like that.
Zach, you mentioned working with Kevin on set, but how vital was he for you in helping you to really tap into that anguish and rage that obviously Kevin goes through at some of his lowest points? I mean, that scene in the courtroom is so amazing, but it’s so heartbreaking as well.
Zach: Yeah, I’ll get tears in my eyes talking about it, but I’ll tell you what—I’ll tell you a quick anecdote. I went into that room, and there were almost no extras—excuse me, background folks—in the courtroom. And I said to Jake, "Gosh, I know we have no budget, but can we fill the courtroom a little more? It looks ridiculous." He goes, "No, that’s what happened, Zach. Nobody was there. He was basically crying out to the judge, and maybe three people, and no one heard him." And it was so futile. And Kevin came—and Kevin didn’t stay when things were very dramatic; he would leave—but he said, "I’m going to leave. I don’t want to watch this." But he said, "I just want you to know this was the only chance I ever had to say my piece. It was the only chance I ever got to stand up and say what happened to my daughter." And I think that… I wasn’t planning to sort of have a breakdown in that scene. That’s not how I pictured doing it. But I think the combination of sitting in that empty courtroom and him just saying to me privately, "This is the only chance I ever had to say how mad I was at what happened to my daughter," really, really affected me. And that’s just such an honor and a privilege to have access to him like that.
Esther, Brooke’s story is so harrowing at times, particularly during those 10 days in the middle of the film. How do you prepare yourself for those really tough scenes and almost recover when they’re over?
Esther: God, I definitely had to practice that the most in this film—it was like the letting go. And letting myself get there as well. It’s like this kind of battle of fear because there are some really hard things. But also out of respect, you know, I think it’s really important to really showcase what she went through. So I think I prepared in a multitude of ways in terms of research and all of these different kinds of things. But also, yeah, I think it’s something that I’ve been very close to—addiction—and I’ve seen it in front of me. So yeah, I think the biggest thing that I had to start doing was like letting it go once I got home. That was quite difficult. I could still feel it in my bones, and there was a lot of that. But I talked to Brooke a lot, actually—I mean, to this day I still do. So I just kind of would have, like, a little conversation with her, be like, you know, just talk—basically talking to myself. But that really helped put me to sleep, I think—it would just be like that conversation. And yeah, it was…
Zach: And we were so lucky to have people from the real story in the movie. I mean, her counsellor plays the woman in the prison who’s the counsellor. And several of the police officers who were there when they found Brooke were the background policemen when we found Brooke. I mean, you’ll notice in the movie there’s a cop with tears in his eyes. It’s not because he’s a brilliant background actor—it’s because he was one of the police officers who was there when they found her body. And Jake just did such a beautiful job of integrating… I mean, I’ve never worked on something like that. I’ve never worked on something where not only were there people who had had this happen to them, but Jake brilliantly integrated them into the movie. I’ve never seen anything like it.
Esther: Yeah, it was super… it was a great added layer of support as well, and kind of a viewpoint into the life, you know.
Clean Hands arrives in select theaters and on-demand October 16.