A Review by Phil Calabro
2004, Fox Searchlight, Dir. Pieter Jan Brugge - Starring Robert Redford, Helen Mirren, Willem Dafoe, Alessandro Nivola, Matt Craven, Melissa Sagemiller, Wendy Crewson, Larry Pine, Diana Scarwid
The Clearing is a promising film with much potential and metaphorical value, which if assumed that having a stellar cast and interesting premise, it will be a respectively stellar and interesting film. However, the problem does not lie within the plot or cast members, but within the feeble and young directing skills of first timer Pieter Jan Brugge, who rather than let the film act on itself, uses too many stylistic techniques for filler.
Wayne Hayes (Redford) is a millionaire businessman, who had earned everything he has gotten during his career, who has raised a beautiful family in a beautiful home, and has lived with a faithful wife (Mirren) for many years. Until one fateful day when a lunatic (Dafoe) comes to his house and kidnaps him for unknown reasons - leaving the family in panic and on alert. We watch as Wayne reveals some new information and learns to love his family even more than ever as he is stuck in the woods with a madman.
Redford's still got it even after all these years. He has the musk and grizzle of old age, but it adds to his character and makes him an incredibly likeable man - his statements feel real, his acting feels real - which is a great bonus. Willem Dafoe plays a good madman, but only on one reason. He plays around with the viewers feelings a lot, leaving them puzzled about whether they should like him or despise him, because both sides of him are shown carefully. Helen Mirren doesn't show any real emotion, and didn't strike any heartstrings for me, because I feel she didn't do much in this film other than keep a straight face saying every one of her lines.
The problem with the film is how it is ordered. It isn't shown chronologically, and there isn't any good reason for why it isn't. It feels choppy and unnecessary, when we feel like getting to the hard facts about the kidnapping. Instead, it would rather hopelessly try to draw emotion from each of the characters because of the situation, a scene that is too slow paced due to Brugge's bad directing. It tends to be boring at times, but when it's Dafoe vs. Redford, it's chilling and interesting at the same time.
I can't exactly suggest seeing The Clearing, but I can't really push you away from it either. Some will be disappointed by the ending, but others will find that the rest of the material will suffice. This time it's a total judgment call, but if you're looking for something that's both philosophically interesting and chilling, The Clearing is for you.
2.5/4 stars
