The Clearing

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Cast & Crew

Robert Redford
Wayne Hayes

Dame Helen Mirren
Eileen Hayes

Willem Dafoe
Arnold Mack

Alessandro Nivola
Tim Hayes

Matt Craven
Agent Fuller

Melissa Sagemiller
Jill Hayes

Wendy Crewson
Louise Miller

Larry Pine
Tom Finch

Diana Scarwid
Eva Finch

Elizabeth Ruscio
Cindy Mack

Pieter Jan Brugge
Director

Jonah Smith
Producer

Pieter Jan Brugge
Producer

Justin Haythe
Writer

Palmer West
Producer

Dara Weintraub
Line Producer

Craig Armstrong
Original Music

Denis Lenoir
Cinematographer

Kevin Tent
Film Editor

Chris Gorak
Production Design

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Critic Reviews for The Clearing

Audience Reviews for The Clearing

• Jul 29, 2017

  Lacking car chases, explosions, gun shoot-outs, a sex scene, and most of the typical hallmarks of most of the typical thrillers, what remains is the slow dawning realization that one may not get the typical summation that one has been trained to look for. The actors seem happy to present that as well, a refreshing change from the typical, and perhaps a look at the reality of these situations. Excellent work.
  Kevin M. W Super Reviewer
• Aug 06, 2011

  This little 2004 drama is a slow-burn thriller about a successful businessman (Redford) who is one day kidnapped and held for ransom by a former employee (Dafoe). Once word gets out about the abduction, it is up to the businessman's wife (Mirren) to deliver the ransom. The ideas going on, and the way they are executed is kinda alrighr, and this had the potential to be really good. However, the film ultimately faisl to deliver a product that is as compelling as it could be. The film is edited in a way to make it seem that all the events are happening simultaneously, when in reality this isn't quite the case. I kinda liked this idea, but with the way it plays out, I think the film would have ultimately been far better and stronger had they just told it in a more straightforward fashion, with greater emphasis on motives, characters, and that kind of thing. All of that is there, but it seems a little weak. Maybe I should just try to overlook that though since this was Pieter Jan Brugge's first film as a director. There are things I liked about it. The casting is good, and they give pretty decent performances. The film has a good atmosphere and tone, and there are some parts that are really suspenseful and done quite well. I was never bored watching the film, yet it left me a little unfulfilled and wondering why the people behind the film made the decisions they did. Despite it's problems and the fact that it ultimately isn't a successful movie, you can tell they tried to make it good. The psychological elements are nice, too. I don't really ultimately recommend it, yet I still kinda liked it, or at least some it, or the concepts. I wantd this to be good, and even though it's not, it does come fairly close.
  Chris W Super Reviewer
• Apr 12, 2010

  A bunch of great actors in a totally redundant film. I honestly couldn't see what attracted any of these people to this. The best bits are between Redford and Dafoe but it doesn't go anywhere and the whole thing seems half-baked. When I originally saw this advertised I wondered why it had never had a cinema release and why I hadn't heard anything about it. Now I know! What a waste of time!
  

  David S Super Reviewer
• Nov 10, 2009

  There was really no point to this movie. There was no climax, no suspence, so a-ha moment. I was completely and totally disappointed with this.
  Sarah P Super Reviewer

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