Robert Redford has brought audiences so many great films, one of my favorites being The Natural in 1984, and now the man responsible for starting the world renown Sundance Film Festival, stars in his first movie to ever premiere there, The Clearing.
This is a story of Wayne Hayes (Redford) a hard working self-made man who is kidnapped and held for ransom by a former employee (Willem Dafoe). Once taken, Wayne’s wife, Eileen Hayes (Helen Mirren) finds her world shattered, as she knows her husband is out there and there is nothing she can do to help except do her best to keep herself and her family together. Not only has this tragedy changed all their lives, it has provided cause for them all to examine themselves, and the life choices they have made.
All three actors do an amazing job. Redford is fantastic, as a man who is struggling with being kidnapped, facing his death, and then realizing the things that make his existence matter. Dafoe is good as well, as a reluctant villain who is wrestling with his own decisions, while Mirren, fresh of the success of Calendar Girls, provides a superb performance, trying to hold her life together, with a missing husband that she loves despite his flaws.
As good as the acting was the film could have used some improvements such as, a little more dialogue and a faster pace. What little dialogue there is, is fantastic, but are we supposed to be able to infer the entire movie simply from the actors pained expressions? The other big problem is the pacing of the film as you often find yourself wondering if you have been kidnapped and forced into boredom during some scenes.
These faults may have come from first time director, Pieter Jan Brugge. He left me waiting the whole movie for the story to finally reach its muted climax, and then when it ended, I walked away with the feeling that it never really lived up to its potential.
On the positive side, The Clearing is a great character study with three great actors. On the negative side, it is a kidnapping movie that could have been a thriller, but instead moves at a snail’s pace.
