the last scene was very touching, the letter most romantic, but the movie in its entirety really bored me. it took everything i had not to fall asleep half way through...
While the ending feels a little anticlimatic, The Clearing is still a searing drama that'll keep you engrossed from beginning to the very downbeat end.
So touching that it's heartbreaking, but at the same time never melodramatic. A study of the impact miscommunication between people can have. The chance to say how much a person means to you in spite of the grief you caused her and the opprtunity of being forgiven even beyond life
all 3 leads sholdve had Oscar nods for this...its one u have to really pay attention to....and the twist in the end is one of the best ive seen in film....i should own this and its a shame i dont...because i really REALLY liked it!!
The Clearing is a quiet, thoughtful film that slowly builds suspense that is not released until the very end. Although there are some contrivances in the plot, the acting is superb throughout and the film works as a psychological thriller, a meditation on loss and regret, and a character study of two flawed but loving people who have forgotten how to express their joy in living. Robert character gets kidnapped by a very simple man played by Willem Dafoe and takes him to the forest, and it's up to Wayne's(Robert Redford) wife to pay the ransom. Kinda an intriguing story but not the type of movie i would watch again, it's too slow, and only for a few minutes it picks uo the pace, but slows doen again. However it was seeing Robert Redford again, and Willem Dafoe, reminded me of their performances in acting skills.
How did I miss this one when it came out, Wow kept me on the edge of my seat. Robert Redford played excellent part. Why does Willem Dafor always have to be the crazy one. Great addition to my collection.
WELL ACTED, WELL CRAFTED AND YET A LITTLE DISAPPOINTING
A great deal of viewers will pan The Clearing for being too "not down to the point", an intelligent suspense thriller about a wealthy man (Redford) kidnapped by an angry ex-employee (Dafoe) and held for ransom until the rich business owner's wife (Mirren) pays the price. Although The Clearing is creatively put together, I just doesn't get right down to the point. What you expect it to be is a kidnapping thriller but it turns into mostly a big discussion between Redford's character and Dafoe's character. Not that that is an insult to the film, their discussions are very carefully and skillfully written, it is just that we are expecting this movie to go places, it doesn't go.
The other half of the film consists of Mirren's character dealing with the F.B.I. and the kidnapper to get back her beloved husband. Her part of the film also consists of her chats with her two grown ?up children (played by Laurel Canyon's Alessandro Nivola and Soul Survivor's Melissa Sagemiller) who are visiting from out of town to comfort their mother in her time of need. The scenes of dialogue between Mirren and her son are very engrossing due mostly to the fact that Nivola is a great actor. However, the scenes of dialogue between Mirren and her daughter are perhaps the most tedious parts of the film, due mainly to the fact that Sagemiller is not a good actress, and unfortunately we get to see more of the scenes between Mirren and her daughter, then scenes with Mirren and her son. The most intriguing of Mirren's interactions of the film, is that of her and the F.B.I. agent in charge of getting back her husband, played by Matt Craven in one of his very best roles. In a whole, The Clearing is a film about interactions rather than actions.
The most rewarding element of Pierre Jan Brugge's The Clearing, is perhaps the acting. All three leads are pitch perfect in their roles, with talent to spare. Robert Redford gives us another great performance that was long awaited. Willem Dafoe is priceless and the meticulous and spooky kidnapper. I think Dafoe's role is the most interesting out of the bunch, but maybe unintentionally. In the hostage scenes with Dafoe and Redford, you're supposed to pay close attention to Redford's stories, but Dafoe's reactions to the stories turn out to be way more interesting. I think the best performance in The Clearing (which may be honored with an Oscar or at least Golden Globe nomination) is Helen Mirren as the intensely worried housewife of Robert Redford. She reels you into to feeling her emotions about this horrible and stressful situation. It takes real talent for an actress to do it, but it takes even more talent for an actress to do this without opening her mouth. That is what Helen Mirren achieves in this film, among many others she's been featured in over the years.
The ending of The Clearing is very disappointing. Although, it's realistic and not hokey, it leaves a lot of questions unanswered. In the last fifteen minutes of the movie they lead you down the garden path into believing everything will be made clear at the end, and don't go through with it. The ending of the film will sit with you better a day after you've seen the picture then it will two seconds after the credits start rolling. You'll realize this was a smart unexpected way to end it, and that it was okay to not add everything up, because in real life not everything always adds up. I think the people who would be most disappointed in The Clearing, are those who watch a lot of television during the week. The reason being is that on television everything is neatly put together in a package and there are no loose ends in the final moments, but on film that doesn't always happen. I think film scholars would appreciate The Clearing substantially more than then the general public.
In closing, this is a good, not great, but good film from first time filmmaker Pierre Jan Brugee. Brugee does a sensational job for his first picture, and presents himself like he's been doing film-making all his life. He is a very bold filmmaker, with a lot of confidence that I'd like to see more of in the not-to-distant future. (review written 8/16/04) Grade: B (screened at AMC Deer Valley 30, Phoenix, Arizona)
A smart, well-crafted and sensational edge of your seat thriller. Taunt, compelling and rich in characer. Thrilling with an emotional punch. Intelligent thrillers like this rarely come around. It's nail-biting, exciting, brilliant remarkable. Gripping, riveting, shocking and astonishing. A suspenseful film that will keep you guessing right till the end. Robert Redford gives a powerful performance. Willem Dafoe is teriffic. Helen Mirren is outstanding.
First of all, Redford seems to have aged unnaturally... Much to my disappointment. Um this movie was kinda weird. It didn't really get exciting and then, at the end, it just kinda ended randomly. It was just plain random I'd say. And I can't even think of why on earth they named it The Clearing. There was no clearing... They did get famous actors but I'd say it just wasn't exciting enough and it was kind of predictable that there was going to be no cabin and that Williem Dafoe's character just randomly decided that he wanted to kidnap Redford for the money, although he said it wasn't for the money? =S
And to further back up my point, it went straight to video in the UK, just wasn't good enough for audiences then.. Although I am a big fan of Redford, I am disappointed in this movie.
I bought this movie despite some extraordinarily mixed reviews, especially considering the cast we're dealing with. At least, I seem to recall reviews being mixed, I could be wrong.
The first thing that struck me was how cold, spartan and restrained the film is. Most of the sounds we hear, outside occasional ambient ones, are within the frame only. No one says anything from offscreen except, at most, in simple conversation. Lines are short and to the point, yet still feel natural. It's almost sterile, but, no, it isn't Kubrick, it's more a feeling of...inevitability? Everything seems to run just how it should, in spite of the kind of people we're dealing with, in spite of the unusual circumstances, in spite of the many, many possibilities that could factor into such a situation. Yet, still, there's definitely life in it. Despite the basic subject matter, even throughout there's a sense of love and hope, even as things are reeled off that should destroy or at least decrease that feeling. There is no major excitement here; no great big chases or shootouts or big, burly FBI agents (Matt Craven plays the lead agent, and is a quiet, average sort of guy). No big heroes or monstrous villains.
While I am in some ways reluctant to reveal the nature of the plot, the great majority of the movie IS centered on it, so it's difficult to avoid. Wayne Hays (Robert Redford) is a successful businessman married to Eileen Hays (Helen Mirren) who leaves for work one morning, promising his wife to be home at six, and he doesn't show. Eileen calls him angrily hoping he's on the way, apologizes to their guests for his absence and then sits alone waiting for him to return. When the hours stretch too far for her, she calls the police and reports him missing. They soon find his car, no signs of struggle or break-in, with the paper he stopped to get sitting in the back with his bag.
Now we are back to that morning, and we see what Wayne saw--a man approaches his car and introduces himself as Arnold Mack (Willem DaFoe), saying he knew Wayne years ago. He has a manilla envelope and says he was told to show the contents to Wayne. Inside are pictures of Eileen at their pool, which, of course, is not something Wayne is happy to see. Arnold uses this as leverage to kidnap Wayne, and now we know for certain where it is he went that morning. The rest of the movie follows Arnold leading Wayne to a cabin in the woods where his employers are waiting to ransom him, and the parallel of Eileen and the two grown children who make up Wayne's family as they try to meet the demands and process that Arnold requires. We see repeatedly signs that this story is further ahead, as multiple days are spoken of and gone through, while Arnold and wayne are still making their way through the woods that first day. They discuss their pasts on a low level, but nothing terribly revealing about Wayne comes out--or even all that revealing about Arnold.
Even in Eileen's story, while we learn that Wayne had an affair with an employee which has ended--and then that it continued in some fashion afterward, we still don't learn an awful lot about the characters. Yet, these three are so stellar at their craft, we feel we know and care about all three--yes, three--of them very honestly. Where the story goes from here, as I say, feels inevitable, yet is not necessarily what you do or do not expect. It simply is, by virtue of this cold, quiet, minimalistic approach to the plot, writing and filming. It moves fairly quickly, despite the seemingly slow pacing. It's an interesting balance, as things continue to happen yet it seems to be moving in real time at the same time. Perhaps it's a balance between the two timelines, but it feels more like it was just exquisitely crafted; it feels as if someone crossed a movie like In the Bedroom with Ransom, maintained the essential feel of In the Bedroom, as a serious, well-acted, quiet drama, but kept the sort of hopeful, "it's just a movie, even though it feels pretty real," sort of tone that most engaging big-budget thrillers hold. We don't ever feel patronized as viewers, like they're trying to perfectly explain the process of kidnapping and negotiating to us, or like the characters are bigger-than-life caricatures instead of actual characters, yet we don't get that oppressive feeling that a realistic drama tends to have. It was very interesting to see and feel this, and I was quiet pleased--even if I am biased by my appreciation of Willem DaFoe and Robert Redford--and now Helen Mirren, who I don't belive I had seen an awful lot of before--though I do have Gosford Park to look forward to still.
Robert Redford and Helen Mirren and Willem Dafoe play three extremely well crafted roles. Most thrillers can be judged on their plots, but with The Clearing the plot is only a frame for three excellent performances. The story is driven by the kidnapping of a retired businessman (Robert Redford) by a former disgruntled employee (Willem Dafoe0. But while half of the movie follows these two men as they wend their way towards a cabin in the woods, the other half observes the businessman's wife (Helen Mirren) as she copes with both the kidnapping and the secrets it accidentally reveals. Redford and Dafoe play a skillful cat and mouse game as each tries to manipulate the other, but the movie's emotional core is Mirren, a superb actress who turns in yet another rich and layered performance. The emphasis on character heightens the suspense, making The Clearing taut and compelling. The guy who plays Mirren's son is also worth a glance or two and unfortunately does not feature in the swimming pol, scene with his mother and sister - damn!
I hate Robert redford so much it is almost personal. I'm not going to go into that, i'll stick with this movie. He(redford) tries to act like he has had a hard day in his life. he can't even act it..
Most thrillers can be judged on their plots, but with The Clearing the plot is only a frame for three excellent performances. The story is driven by the kidnapping of a retired businessman (Robert Redford) by a former disgruntled employee (Wil...
This could have been a brilliant movie, if the storyline was well-executed. I expected it to be a slower-than-usual movie, albeit one which would show many shades of the character Arnold (played by Dafoe). The other characters didn't get anything to do in this movie (I blame it on whoever wrote the screenplay, and the one who directed it). Dafoe's character could have been made more complex (which he really was, but the movie failed to show that) to make the movie more interesting.
Of course, as one of the comments in the boards mentioned, it's a movie which they tried to make complex so that users could feel intelligent when watching it. I think they failed miserably at even trying to make it complex, leave alone anything else. Dafoe's talent was way underutilized in this movie.
A bit predictable, but with loads of talent. The subtle acting skills of Robert, Helen and Willem is what makes this an interesting film even though the plot is very slow. I enjoy watching every twitch in Robert's face while he talks to Willem, cause it just looks so natural, like he's not acting at all. I'll admit, I was a little bored with the storyline. This is the kind of film you watch for love of the actors in it.
Another of those, started but unable to finish flickers... I can't even bother myself to put it back in the DVD player as I don't feel this film even deserves that much of my life.
The premise of the storyline made it seemed like this was the kinda movies I digged, but it was a total disappointment. Despite Redford, Mirren and Dafoe's best efforts, they were eventually let down by the lack of character development. It could have been much better.
Wow!! seems people hate this movie, but if you can honestly fault the acting then tell me now. The lovely Helen Mirren nearly out-acted Defoe and Redford. Actually, maybe she did. I'm sorry, but because of the acting and the story this deserves to be in my favourites. It's a brilliant film.
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