Review of The Clearing (2004) by Scott K — 09 Mar 2008

This film is a drama about the relationship between a married couple who have grown more distant from each other as time has passed. Robert Redford plays Wayne Hayes and Helen Mirren plays his wife, Eileen. Early on in the film, Wayne is kidnapped by Arnold Mack who is played by Willem Dafoe. The kidnapping doesn't make this film into a thriller but it does provide a device for Wayne to look back on his life and his relationship with Eileen.

The three main actors is in the film all give very good performances. Thankfully, Dafoe limits himself in this performance. There is no hint of the over the top Green Goblin character he plays in the Spiderman franchise. This allows the kidnapper to become more human, which is essential in creating the relationship between kidnapper and captive.

The film is the first effort from director Pieter Jan Brugge and he is able to get a good looking film on the screen. The main issue with this film is that it is not suspenseful enough to become a good thriller and the characters are not developed well enough to provide for an excellent drama. The film would have benefited from a tighter focus on one genre and, I think in this case, a drama would have made for a more interesting film.