Clearing, The (2004)

Directed by Pieter Jan Brugge Writing credits Pieter Jan Brugge (story) Justin Haythe

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rosscinema (rosscinema@juno.com)
Oceanside, Ca.

Date: 25 July 2004
Summary: Simple story becomes interesting character study

Here it is in the middle of the summer where viewers are bombarded with contrived special effects laden movies aimed at primarily brain dead audiences but if you look closely you will find one or two interesting smaller films. This is clearly one of them and it's a breath of fresh air for many of us. Story is about a wealthy man named Wayne Hayes (Robert Redford) who is happily married to Eileen (Helen Mirren) and one morning on his way to work he is kidnapped by an ex-employee named Arnold Mack (Willem Dafoe) who instructs him at gunpoint to do what he says. They end up in the woods where they begin a long walk to a clearing where they are suppose to meet some other men at a cabin and along the way they begin talking and revealing things about themselves.

*****SPOILER ALERT*****

Eileen eventually calls the FBI who instruct her on what to do next and she is also comforted by her grown children Tim (Alessandro Nivola) and Jill (Melissa Sagemiller). The FBI learns that Wayne had an affair with another woman named Louise (Wendy Crewson) and even though Eileen knew of this she didn't know that they were still in contact with each other. While on the walk Wayne learns more about Arnold and his private life but what surprises him is that he knows all about his marriage and the affair he is having. Eileen receives a ransom note and delivers the money but the end result is something so simple that even she didn't expect it.

This film is directed by the successful producer Pieter Jan Brugge who makes his debut and the script is co-written with Justin Haythe and it's based on a true story that took place in Holland. This film is simply told and offers no plot twists which we have unfortunately come to expect and it's actually refreshing to watch something like this. The script allows the characters to engage in interesting and provoking dialogue where we see the real sides to their personalities. Arnold is basically a loser and a huge disappointment in life while Wayne shows that even with his business success he is still someone who has glaring flaws. These flaws have trickled down and have an impact on his marriage and even his relationship with his children. The story is strongly reminiscent of something David Mamet would write and that's a real compliment to Brugge and Haythe. The performances are all strong but Mirren gives arguably the best in the film and she's fascinating to watch as she maintains her strength in front of everyone while feeling deep disappointment and betrayal. While Hollywood would have tacked on one of those feel good endings for the shallow masses this film maintains it's consistency with it's script and the end result is a story that is refreshingly simple from start to finish.

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