Plan To See This Clearing
The Clearing
Cast: Helen Mirren, Robert Redford, Willem Defoe, Alessandro Nivola
Director: Pieter Jan Brugge
Movie Help Web Popcorn Kernels:
In a summer filled with blockbuster, high budget, CGI-filled, action packed movies, along comes a little film with a couple of M. Night Shyamalan-like twists. And while it's low key, and you probably have not heard much about it, anything starring Robert Redford, Willem Dafoe, and Helen Mirren can't be all bad, right?
Right.
Wayne and Eileen Hayes, to all outside appearances, have it all. Wealthy and successful, their children safely raised and out of the nest, they own a beautiful home in the suburbs and entertain guests. They've grown distant over the years, but many couples do.
Beneath the surface, however, skeletons lie in closets. During the 91 minutes of this low-budget, almost sleeper-quality film, there are secrets that are unearthed under the worst possible circumstances.
You see, on a normal, regular day, Wayne (Redford) is waylaid and taken to a remote wooded area by former employee/coworker Arnold Mack (Dafoe). While Wayne uses his every ounce of charisma, strategy, and finally in desperation, insult, to persuade Arnold to set him free, Eileen (Mirren) is left at home wondering her husband's fate - dealing with the aforementioned skeletons, providing support, and a sense of normalcy for her adult children and grandson.
The story builds on relationships: Wayne and Eileen's marriage is portrayed through a series of flashbacks and recollections by the two main characters. It's obvious that they have followed the path of many successful couples - and success sometimes carries a price. While their current state indicates complacent habit, during the course of the kidnapping ordeal, both discover just how much the other still means to them...a fact that in real life, is sometimes realized too late.
Arnold is a kidnapper with a heart of gold (her voice dripping with sarcasm). After locking Wayne in a hot car trunk, he makes sure his prey is able to walk safely through the rough terrain by providing him with a pair of tennis shoes. He brings sandwiches for the long hike, and engages in conversation to learn more about the man he is bringing to "the people who hired him". He seems remorseful that he has to do this thing, but on the other hand, there's no way he's going to not deliver Wayne.
Back in suburbia, Eileen receives communications from the kidnapper and follows the demands. She does what the FBI tells her to do. She has a birthday party for her grandson, noting that it is his first birthday, and he should not have to give that up. She talks to her son and daughter about their father. She agonizes over developments in the case.
During the final segments of The Clearing, the atmosphere shifts from conversational to thriller and more "action". To tell the truth, my friends and I were being rude (okay, the theatre was almost empty) and hissed warnings at the screen to Wayne and Eileen, both of whom we thought were doing some pretty stupid things. (The old "DON'T GO IN THE BASEMENT, ARE YOU STUPID" cliché stuff.)
The twists (which I'm not going to go into, are you kidding?) were obvious to me shortly after the film started, but didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story. My friends, however, didn't "get it" until further into the film - but they also stated that they still enjoyed the movie.
Bottom line, while I do recommend you see The Clearing, (which I saw in a full-priced, big screen theatre), I will also recommend that you wait for the film to hit the "cheap seats" theatres, or even wait for the DVD.
NOTE: Kid's recommendation (not recommended for children) is due to the "R" rating - mild violence, topic of kidnapping may be scary for some children, mild sexual encounter references (no nudity). Older teens might enjoy this film, but the cut off by eps is age 13.
