The Clearing (2004)
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Actor: Alessandro Nivola, Helen Mirren, Matt Craven, Robert Redford, Willem DafoeBrand: REDFORD,ROBERT
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 95 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-11-09
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
DVD Reviews of The Clearing (2004)
DVD Review: HANDS DOWN, THE WORST MOVIE OF 2004
Summary: 1 Stars
Some critics gave raves for this. Especially, those juggleheads on ABC. I love Redford and Dafoe. So I watched it on cable. The movie bills itself as a suspense thriller. Yeah, this was about as thrilling as watching my grandma knitting a kidnapper's hood. I wish she would have knitted me a hood and thrown it over my head so I wouldn't have had to watch this mess. Meandering story, inane timeline, rotten dialogue, some bad acting, and the worst denouement I've ever seen in a thriller. THIS IS A FORGIVENESS STORY DISGUISED AS A THRILLER. Which is unfair to the audience it's catering to. The ending is so bad it should be shown in screenwriting classes as an example of how NOT to end a suspense film. It's extremely unsatisfying. It reminded me of the sceenwriting taboo "and then he woke up." I GIVE AWAY THE ENDING BELOW because the screenwriter deserves it. So SKIP THIS REVIEW if you want to see this. Okay, but you'll be sorry.
WARNING MAJOR SPOILER:
A buddy of mine showed up at my house when this started and together we had fun picking this film apart and rewriting it the way it should have been written. And believe me, it's the only fun we had watching this stinker. All you need to know is that Dafoe kidnaps Redford and Redford's wife, Helen Mirren calls the FBI. We never understand Dafoe's motive. Hardly anything in the script reveals who he is or his psychology. Redford, the millionaire victim, guesses some things about him. But, they are not used in any way as an arc in the story. All we know is that Dafoe is a disgruntled ex-employee. Dafoe supposedly has employers who have paid him to bring Redford to a cabin in the woods where they await his arrival and will contact his wife for the ransom. We couldn't wait until they got to this mysterious cabin in the woods. This doesn't happen as Dafoe is making it up. The film might have been very interesting if there were unknown business rivals or someone seeking revenge as kidnappers who have a grudge against Redford. If this had been FILM NOIR from the 40s or 50s, that's where the script would have taken us. I kept thinking maybe something bad will be revealed about Redford's past and he'll turn out to be a villain too. It would have been a great place to take the story. But, Dafoe is acting alone. Redford also uses psychology on Dafoe which goes nowhere. He tries to turn Dafoe against his employers. But, there are no employers. My friend and I figured it would be used to turn Dafoe against his "so-called" employers in a way that would reveal how fiendish Redford really is. We figured in a twist of circumstances, by the end of the film, Dafoe would be charmed into working for Redford, who turns out to be a villainous millionaire. That's where I would have taken the story.
The meandering subplot, which turns out to be the main plot, is about Redford's wife, who finds out Redford is having an affair when it's revealed to her by the FBI man staying at the house. Then we pondered, maybe she knew it all along and is having an affair too. Maybe with Dafoe or someone else. And she's going to kill him for his money. Another interesting way to take the story. But, no. After watching the first hour, I said to my friend, "Nothing much is going to happen, this movie is not that clever." Oh, how right I was. After reminiscing with the kids and meeting the other woman, Mirren is going to pay the kidnappers. I guess it's Dafoe. I thought it was some other guy, but the timeline, which is meant to be clever, is confusing. He calls her on a payphone because the FBI is watching. Wouldn't happen. You can't place incoming calls to payphones anymore. Dafoe gets the money because Mirren shakes the FBI tail. Sure she does.
Flashback to the woods. Redford wrestles with Dafoe for the gun. The gun goes flying and Redford has a chance to strangle Dafoe. Here's a guy who knows he'll be killed, but he just can't do it. Instead he hugs a tree in distress. My friend blurts out, "Treehugger!!" Dafoe retrieves the gun and reveals to Redford that there are no employers. He shoots Redford. Redford dies. Flash forward and Dafoe mails a note that Redford previously asked Dafoe to mail to his wife. Dafoe starts spending the marked bills. Some guy at a drugstore is checking the serial numbers while Dafoe is still in the store. Yeah, sure. Everytime I go into a store and pass a 100 bill the manager always checks it for serial numbers on FBI lists. I don't think so. They catch Dafoe and he confesses. Later Mirren receives the note. It says, "As long as you love me, I have everything I need." She smiles as Redford's ghost walks in the room and says the same thing to her that's in the note. He fades away. She forgives him. The end. I'm not kidding. We both groaned on cue. Ohhhhhhh..... THIS IS A ROTTEN SCRIPT!!
Come on, Redford. Were you high when you read this? Audiences are pretty sophisticated nowadays. Okay, maybe not. This could have gone any of the ways I suggested and been GREAT FILM NOIR. Instead, it's just a forgiveness story disguised as a thiller. What the...? I cry FOUL!! FOUL!!
AVOID THIS LIKE THE PLAGUE.
Description of The Clearing (2004)
Boasting the year?s most critically acclaimed and talented cast, including Robert Redford, Hellen Mirren, and William DaFoe, THE CLEARING is a taut, engrossing thriller about fate, love, and missed opportunities. ?Redford gives one of the best performances ever? as a self-made tycoon kidnapped and now in the most important negotiation ever ? for his life?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 Dafoe, Shadow of the Vampire). 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, the Prime Suspect series) 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. --Bret Fetzer
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