Clean

Emily is a former video jockey whose volatile relationship with Lee Hauser drives much of the film's tension. She struggles with heroin addiction, faces arrest after Lee's death, and spends six months in jail. After returning to life in Paris, she battles methadone dependence while trying to reconnect with her son, and a chance meeting with a fellow musician in prison offers a path to a new singing career as she works toward getting clean to be with Jay.

Lee is a rock musician and Emily's partner, whose friends believe she is bad for him. His death from a drug overdose becomes the catalyst for the film's events, leaving Jay in the care of his parents and casting a long shadow over Emily's efforts to reclaim her life and family.

Lee's father, a stern and protective patriarch who initially resists Emily's access to Jay and urges boundaries to shield his grandson. He later travels with Jay to London and takes him to meet Emily, testing the limits of forgiveness and the possibility of reconciliation.

Lee's mother, who falls ill and accompanies Jay to London for medical treatment. She remains wary of Emily and shapes Jay's memory by suggesting Emily's role in his father's death, influencing the boy's feelings and decisions about his relationship with his mother.

The young son of Emily and Lee, living with Lee's parents in Vancouver. He has been told by his grandmother that Emily caused his father's death, which complicates any potential reconnection. When Emily finally meets him, she shares the truth about her past and hopes to mend their bond, including a zoo visit that becomes a turning point.