The Clearing (2004)

Too much of everything

Powerful

Beautiful, moving film.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

In "The Clearing" (2004) Robert Redford plays a rich executive in the Pittsburgh area kidnapped by a working class guy (Willem Dafoe) while his wife (Helen Mirren) tries to handle the situation.Those hoping for a conventional Hollywood crime thriller will be disappointing by "The Clearing." This is a reflective adult drama/mystery about a kidnapping, based on a true story that occurred in Holland in 1987.While decidedly low-key, there are interesting psychological elements rooted in class warfare (the executive and kidnapper's relationship) and the nature of happiness in marriage and the stumbling blocks thereof (the executive, his wife and another woman). The three acting giants make the drama believable and compelling. There's only one roll-your-eyes part (the aftermath of the fight between two guys; you'll know what I mean when you see it).The movie has left some people confused, but it's pretty straight-forward and everything is there if you pay attention. The two story lines are not parallel. One takes place over the course of a single day and the other over several days and, ultimately, the better part of a year (you'll note the seasons change).The city scenes were shot in Pittsburgh and the forest scenes in the Asheville, NC, area. Some parts were shot in Atlanta as well.The film runs 95 minutes.GRADE: B+

Maybe it is just me but I was really disappointed with the film. It seemed to start off okay and for awhile there I thought it was going to be a good movie. But then the end came and it seemed to me as if the writers couldn't quite figure out how to end it.It also raised a huge number of questions as to how this unemployed person (Arnold) could manage to do all the things he did in the time he did. For example, there were at least two cars he had available to him. If he was unemployed how would he have had two cars and presumably another one at home that he normally used. He was never shown with any voice recording equipment yet he managed to play a recording of Wayne's voice over the phone. What was his contingency plan if Eileen hadn't turned the car around and come back? Would he have stayed out there in the wilderness all night? Didn't his wife wonder where he was being away all day and how would he have explained his dirty clothes (resulting from the fight)? Why didn't he use the money like he said he was going to? There are lots more questions but that'll do I think. As I said I didn't like it and think it was a complete waste of time and effort to make and I regret the time I wasted watching it.

OK, that's disappointing as a thriller, and as anything else as well!First things first : although he was given so little screen time but Alessandro Nivola is unbearable. Robert Redford was charismatic and effective enough (sometimes that's not enough when it comes to him !). The plot is catchy but not the script (deliberately it doesn't want to utilize any thrilling moments out of the main situation). The music didn't play anything special. And yes, the end is SO SAD ! On a deep level, it is not the typical Hollywood thriller. It is for audience cherishes the drama more than the thrill (or for the thrill's audience to cherish other things). It just uses its kidnapping case to tell you a story about love between a man and a woman; showing humans not super creatures, yet to tell you the truth it couldn't be as interesting or enjoyable as any of the pure thrillers ! It is pretty damn usual at places to an extent seduces you to sleep! The cast did it fine, but not that fine. While the sad ending is something to declare the story's message (clear it up before it's so late), still Alessandro Nivola is unbearable ! Interesting idea, not movie.

The makers of this film didn't know whose story it was; Redford's, Mirren's or Dafoe's and in any event were unable to bring any of the possible stories to a satisfactory conclusion. The implication at the end is that the Mirren character who has lost her husband in a mindless killing should be contented with a scribbled note on a piece of paper in recompense. Hello! Having a ghostly Redford appear to her at the end was a real cinematic copout!This film started well but eventually disintegrated into a narrative slough. Least satisfactory film I have seen in some time.