"The Clearing" centers on the kidnapping of a successful businessman by a down-on-his-luck malcontent, but the goal of debuting director Pieter Jan Brugge -- who developed the screenplay with novelist Justin Haythe -- is to portray a troubled marriage. By inducing the extreme stress of such a violent separation on a husband and wife, played by Robert Redford and Helen Mirren, the movie wants to worm into the fissions and weak spots of their lives together. It's a risky strategy, for audiences may grow inpatient with such introspection during a time of emergency. But the real problem is that Brugge and Haythe fail to satisfactorily pull off either the thriller or the marital deconstruction.
The disappointment of this film is even more keenly felt when we realize that Redford, creator of the Sundance Institute and its famous festival that showcases independent works, is appearing for the first time in the kind of film of which he is such a staunch advocate. (It played in unfinished form at this year's Sundance Film Festival.) Redford's name virtually assures the film's drawing power in specialty theaters, but it is unlikely to venture much beyond upscale suburban cinemas.
As we watch Wayne and Eileen Hayes (Redford and Mirren) get ready for a seemingly uneventful day, we realize that the couple apparently has it all: a tasteful estate outside Pittsburgh, married children, grandkids and an easy camaraderie that comes from 30 years of marriage.
Another man gets ready for his day, too, but he is filmed in close-ups, so we know little about his circumstances. When the man, Arnold Mack (Willem Dafoe), brazenly kidnaps Wayne at the front gate to his estate, the film divides into parallel story lines.
Arnold, who claims to be a cog in the wheel of a kidnapping conspiracy, transports Wayne at gunpoint to a forest. As the two trudge high into the mountains, their verbal exchanges lay out the striking disparity between a tycoon and a bitter failure, whose unemployment provokes severe self-doubts. Meanwhile, once Eileen realizes that Wayne's disappearance is a crime rather than a desertion -- a momentary mistake that speaks volumes about the seemingly perfect and placid Hayes marriage -- the FBI moves in, her family gathers, and nervous speculation begins.
Federal prying and Eileen's own self-interrogation yield a picture of a marriage beset by infidelity, suspicion and unspoken fears. Yet none of this is particularly compelling: a poor man jealous of a rich man; a wife worried about her husband's affair. Can we dig no deeper than this? The characters and their woes are too generic and the dramatic interplay between story lines too tepid to produce much heat.
The time frame also remains vague until much too late. Eileen's story spans a number of days, while Wayne's lasts a few hours. However, this is unclear until the latter half of the movie. Wayne's story also contains one of those movie moments, designed to inject much-needed melodrama, that rings false. At one point, he gets the upper hand in his struggle to survive against the determined kidnapper. But he squanders that opportunity in a most unbelievable way for a man whose life is at stake.
One wishes that Brugge had used Redford's iconic status to build the character of a self-made man shaken to discover that he may lose everything in a matter of hours. Nevertheless, Redford quietly conveys the essential point that the trauma refocuses his character's thoughts on his family rather than on his own safety. Mirren can do little more than fret and worry but does achieve a poignancy. Dafoe creates another memorable villain, one whose rage is buried beneath extreme politeness.
The careful craftsmanship and meticulous cinematography by Denis Lenoir and designer Chris Gorak give the movie muted colors and a well-upholstered decor that contain a touch of melancholy -- not unlike that in Redford's directing debut in "Ordinary People". Craig Armstrong's music has a suggestion of "American Beauty", where a few select chords are meant to reverberate tellingly through these peoples' lives.
THE CLEARING
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Fox Searchlight and Thousand Words present in association with Mediastream III a Thousand Words/Wildwood Enterprises production
Credits:
Director: Pieter Jan Brugge
Screenwriter: Justin Haythe
Story by: Pieter Jan Brugge, Justin Haythe
Producers: Pieter Jan Brugge, Palmer West, Jonah Smith
Executive producer: Karen Tenkhoff
Director of photography: Denis Lenoir
Production designer: Chris Gorak
Music: Craig Armstrong
Co-producer: Dara Weintraub
Costume designer: Florence-Isabelle Megginson
Editor: Kevin Tent
Cast:
Wayne Hayes: Robert Redford
Eileen Hayes: Helen Mirren
Arnold Mack: Willem Dafoe
Tim: Alessandro Nivola
Agent Fuller: Matt Craven
Jill: Melissa Sagemiller
Louise Miller: Wendy Crewson
MPAA rating R
Running time -- 95 minutes...
The disappointment of this film is even more keenly felt when we realize that Redford, creator of the Sundance Institute and its famous festival that showcases independent works, is appearing for the first time in the kind of film of which he is such a staunch advocate. (It played in unfinished form at this year's Sundance Film Festival.) Redford's name virtually assures the film's drawing power in specialty theaters, but it is unlikely to venture much beyond upscale suburban cinemas.
As we watch Wayne and Eileen Hayes (Redford and Mirren) get ready for a seemingly uneventful day, we realize that the couple apparently has it all: a tasteful estate outside Pittsburgh, married children, grandkids and an easy camaraderie that comes from 30 years of marriage.
Another man gets ready for his day, too, but he is filmed in close-ups, so we know little about his circumstances. When the man, Arnold Mack (Willem Dafoe), brazenly kidnaps Wayne at the front gate to his estate, the film divides into parallel story lines.
Arnold, who claims to be a cog in the wheel of a kidnapping conspiracy, transports Wayne at gunpoint to a forest. As the two trudge high into the mountains, their verbal exchanges lay out the striking disparity between a tycoon and a bitter failure, whose unemployment provokes severe self-doubts. Meanwhile, once Eileen realizes that Wayne's disappearance is a crime rather than a desertion -- a momentary mistake that speaks volumes about the seemingly perfect and placid Hayes marriage -- the FBI moves in, her family gathers, and nervous speculation begins.
Federal prying and Eileen's own self-interrogation yield a picture of a marriage beset by infidelity, suspicion and unspoken fears. Yet none of this is particularly compelling: a poor man jealous of a rich man; a wife worried about her husband's affair. Can we dig no deeper than this? The characters and their woes are too generic and the dramatic interplay between story lines too tepid to produce much heat.
The time frame also remains vague until much too late. Eileen's story spans a number of days, while Wayne's lasts a few hours. However, this is unclear until the latter half of the movie. Wayne's story also contains one of those movie moments, designed to inject much-needed melodrama, that rings false. At one point, he gets the upper hand in his struggle to survive against the determined kidnapper. But he squanders that opportunity in a most unbelievable way for a man whose life is at stake.
One wishes that Brugge had used Redford's iconic status to build the character of a self-made man shaken to discover that he may lose everything in a matter of hours. Nevertheless, Redford quietly conveys the essential point that the trauma refocuses his character's thoughts on his family rather than on his own safety. Mirren can do little more than fret and worry but does achieve a poignancy. Dafoe creates another memorable villain, one whose rage is buried beneath extreme politeness.
The careful craftsmanship and meticulous cinematography by Denis Lenoir and designer Chris Gorak give the movie muted colors and a well-upholstered decor that contain a touch of melancholy -- not unlike that in Redford's directing debut in "Ordinary People". Craig Armstrong's music has a suggestion of "American Beauty", where a few select chords are meant to reverberate tellingly through these peoples' lives.
THE CLEARING
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Fox Searchlight and Thousand Words present in association with Mediastream III a Thousand Words/Wildwood Enterprises production
Credits:
Director: Pieter Jan Brugge
Screenwriter: Justin Haythe
Story by: Pieter Jan Brugge, Justin Haythe
Producers: Pieter Jan Brugge, Palmer West, Jonah Smith
Executive producer: Karen Tenkhoff
Director of photography: Denis Lenoir
Production designer: Chris Gorak
Music: Craig Armstrong
Co-producer: Dara Weintraub
Costume designer: Florence-Isabelle Megginson
Editor: Kevin Tent
Cast:
Wayne Hayes: Robert Redford
Eileen Hayes: Helen Mirren
Arnold Mack: Willem Dafoe
Tim: Alessandro Nivola
Agent Fuller: Matt Craven
Jill: Melissa Sagemiller
Louise Miller: Wendy Crewson
MPAA rating R
Running time -- 95 minutes...
- 7/22/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.