The mechanism is conventional in this kidnapping caper, but “The Clearing” is elevated to excellence by deftly nuanced performances from Robert Redford, Helen Mirren and Willem Dafoe. Veteran producer Pieter Jan Brugge (“The Insider,” “Heat”) impresses in his directorial debut not so much for what he brings to “The Clearing” as what he leaves out. There is no narrative chicanery and nary an explosive action sequence or high-tech special effect. This is as spare a thriller as you’ll find, as Brugge is wise enough to know that bells and whistles are unnecessary when you’ve got a terrific lead trio infusing so much psychological complexity into the picture.
Redford is Wayne Hayes, a self-made, self-assured rental car magnate whose professional ambition has exacted a heavy toll on his 30-year marriage to Eileen (Mirren). As Wayne points out early on, while they maintain the illusion of a perfect union, his is a “household of disappointed people.” And so it is that when she learns her husband has been kidnapped, Eileen’s expression betrays fear mingled with relief. The routine that has hemmed her in for so long has been interrupted cruelly yet, on another level, thankfully. Wayne has betrayed Eileen, the extent to which is revealed when the FBI begins sifting through the couple’s dirty laundry, but she can’t help loving the man, especially when confronted with the prospect of losing him forever. Wayne, too, longs for what was lost as he trudges through the woods at gunpoint with his abductor, Arnold Mack (Dafoe), a downwardly mobile plebe who sees Wayne as the embodiment of all he might have been. There’s a poignancy to Dafoe’s rendering of the troubled Arnold that makes him perhaps the most sympathetic character in the film. We really feel for this guy, despite his crime, partly because — unlike Wayne — he’s a devoted husband, and partly because he represents a familiar longing for an ideal that is largely unattainable. The actors, of course, have a field day playing with all that moral ambiguity, and in the end each adds another memorable character to their impressive resumes. (Rated R for brief strong language. Running time: 91 Minutes)
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 2, 2004. Read the original PDF.