Starring: Robert Redford, Helen Mirren and Willem Dafoe
Director: Pieter Jan Brugge
Rated: M15+
WITH stars like Robert Redford, Helen Mirren and Willem Dafoe, and with notable technicians like the French cinematographer Denis Lenoir, Chris Gorak as production designer and editor Kevin Tent The Clearing should have been this summer’s grown-up blockbuster.
But it’s almost a dud because even though it looks good, nothing and no one can save a film from a bad script and incoherent direction.
Wayne Hayes (Robert Redford) is a self-made millionaire.
He married his childhood sweetheart Eileen (Helen Mirren) over 50 years ago. Seemingly over a mid-life adultery, Wayne has settled down into a busy retirement making more money, feeling distant from his two children and admiring his good fortune.
As he sets out to work one morning he is kidnapped by Arnold (Willem Dafoe), a mild-mannered former employee who wants a slice of the good life.
This thriller narrates the story of Arnold and Wayne’s walk in the woods toward a clearing where Arnold says Wayne will be set free.
Meanwhile the family has to deal with the ransom demands for a man they discover they hardly know.
After a notable stint as a producer, The Clearing marks Pieter Jan Brugge debut as a storywriter and director.
It is also Justin Haythe’s debut as a screenwriter. Their inexperience shows on the screen.
On the plus side their characters are complex enough to engage us – no one is lily white or charcoal black.
The Hayes marriage is tragically real and their situation perfectly imaginable. What motivates the mannered kidnapper Arnold is more of a mystery.
When the drama kicks in, however, the plot points are more than convenient, the action plods along and the gaps start to appear.
One of the major flaws in the film is that the timeline is a mess.
While Eileen keeps going to bed and having breakfast at home for a couple of days, Wayne and Arnold are trudging through the bush in the space of a single day.
Furthermore, Wayne has a couple of opportunities to escape Arnold’s rather unusual and compassionate captivity, but seems incapable of seizing the moment to make the break.
Finally, Arnold keeps calling Eileen to demand the ransom, which either means Wayne is overhearing it, but never calls out, or Arnold leaves Wayne alone to make the calls. If so, why doesn’t Wayne run away?
At these points the story and screenplay lose our confidence. Added to this are some very clumsy and obvious directorial decisions that beggar belief.
For all the taut and thrilling moments, and there are a few, The Clearing is a huge disappointment.
