Daisy Ridley has never loved heights. That might be surprising for some who naively believe a Jedi cannot experience fear. But more realistically, its simply impressive since her new action-movie, director Martin Campbells Cleaner, stars Ridley as a window-cleaner who must dangle precariously off the side of a building for much of the films taut 96-minute running time after terrorists commandeer the building shes working in.It came to it, Ridley says of the day she was first harnessed mid-air, and I thought I really dont like this. Of course I knew I wouldnt really be dangling on the side of a building, but there was a time where Martin said, Oh we are actually going to shoot as much as possible on the side of a building.As it turned out, thankfully for Ridley, much of the action in Cleaner was filmed above a blue screen as opposed to the side of a real building Nonetheless, the star was still a good ways up there and often with only a thin ledge between her feet and a long drop.It was high, Ridley laughs, and then I sort of had to get used to that, but part of the film is Joey is terrified of whats going on, so it was a real-life-meets-art collaboration of fear.The death-defying act pays off in a movie that itself works as a throwback. Like a certain other movie about an everyday person who is thrust into extraordinary circumstances when terrorists take over their building, Ridleys Joey character finds herself in a live free or die hard situation. However, unlike Bruce Willis iconic John McClanean NYC cop who is only too ready to pick up a machine gun and mow down bad guysRidleys Joey is not a hero. Its revealed she was in the British Army in another life before exiting due to whispers of insubordination. But while she has a knack for violence, she is herself not a risk-taker. She is literally working this dead-end job to help pay the bills for her special needs brother (who also ends up in the building) and finds herself cornered by terrorists before she ever gets off the side of that building. In other words, there is no flippant I have a machine gun, ho ho ho! level of oneupsmanship here.Joey was always written as she comes across, says Ridley, and I think Simon [Uttley] did a really beautiful job with that. One of the things that drew me to her is the relationship with her brother, and the fact that she knows she has not been a good sibling [and] also she has been in a really difficult position Her constant next time, next time well figure this out, and then shes of course confronted with the idea that maybe there isnt a next time. Maybe this is all the time shes had, and she has not used it well with her brother.Adding that Joey is quite spiky, Ridley smiles, I love that she is not trying to be a hero at all. Shes trying to save the life of her brother, it just turns out shes pretty heroic as she does it [and] the film becomes a big ol fighty, fighty thing.Even so, the movie feels eerily synched with the current zeitgeist. Unlike Alan Rickmans Hans Landa from 40 years ago, the terrorists Ridley goes up against are not played for dark comic laughs or irony. In fact, they seem to speak to the moment as they are presented as extreme eco-activists who have pivoted to abject violence in order to make a statement about climate change. And the company they targeted is not exactly innocent to those worried about the longevity of life on the planet: its an energy company whose executives the chief antagonists (Clive Owen and Taz Skylar) have differing ideas for how to punishIt certainly felt like there was a message there, Ridley considers, aside from all the stuff the bad guys do that really have nothingI dont think[to do] with properly being thoughtful about the environment. With that said, the ultimate nihilism of their methods make it a lot easier to enjoy some of the big ol fighty fighty bits by movies end.Cleaner opens in theaters on Friday, Feb. 21 and tickets are on sale now.