The Clearing (2004)
Note: Spoilers.
It's easy to see that "The Clearing"
is a film made by a new director from a script by
a neophyte script writer. Only those unbound by the
constrains of "the establishment" in Hollywood could
conceive of such a film. It takes a contrived standard
Hollywood genre and gives it a bland, realistic treatment.
Not to spoil the film, but this
may: You can see the ending of the film coming from
a mile away. It's as if scripter Justin Haythe said,
"I want to write a kidnapping film that is like every
other one out there, except it ends realistically.
I want to write a film that doesn't have a happy ending.
I want to write one that isn't full of angst and screaming
and wringing hands.
Robert Redford is perfect as an
aging businessman who perhaps hasn't taken enough
time to smell the roses along the way. Helen Mirren
is wonderfully sedate and subtle as his long- suffering,
long-loving wife. Willem Dafoe is cast nicely, playing
his normal lunatic but turned down to half-crazed,
as the kidnapper who sees a cash cow in Redford. It
is the acting here, along with the slowly-paced momentum
of the film, evolving from the page onto the screen,
that makes "The Clearing" a film that the typical
film buff will love and the general public will hate.
Part of the interest here comes
from the gleaning of how the timeline is playing out.
Before long we notice that Mirren's story is taking
weeks to play out whilst when we return to Redford's
story, it is taking place all in a matter of hours.
It requires only a moment of meditation to realize
that the two are winding towards the same inevitable
conclusion.
There's no car crashes, no explosion,
and only a little gunplay. What a movie like this
is doing coming out in the middle of summer is anyone's
guess. Regardless, for the patient, there is an interesting,
well-played out drama here. The acting is flawless
and the cinematography is lush and gorgeous. The pacing
is slow and deliberate yet acceptable. For those suffering
from MTV and Hollywood induced ADD, however, this
film is like a cinematic Quaalude.
Note:
Also with Matt Craven, Alessandro
Nivola, and Wendy Crewson.
Director Peiter Jan Brugge has produced
numerous films including "The Insider," "Heat" and
"Bulworth" but this was his first directing credit.
Purportedly based on a true kidnapping
that took place in Holland.
Viewed in Austin in July 2004.
