| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Movie Name | The Clearing (2004) |
| Director | Pieter Jan Brugge |
| Writer | Justin Haythe |
| Lead Actor | Robert Redford |
| Cast | Robert Redford, Willem Dafoe, Helen Mirren, Alessandro Nivola, Matt Craven |
| Genre | Drama, Thriller |
| Release Date | July 2, 2004 (United States) |
| Duration | 1h 35m |
| Budget | $25 million |
| Language | English |
| IMDb Rating | 5.8/10 |
Wayne Hayes (Robert Redford) is a self made man who sold his business at a great profit. He and his wife, Eileen (Helen Mirren), live in a mansion near Pittsburgh. Their daughter, Jill (Melissa Sagemiller), is in college and their son, Tim (Alessandro Nivolo), is married.
Wayne is kidnapped by Arnold (Willem Dafoe), a former employee who drives his captive into the countryside. As they hike to a cabin where Arnold says the men who hired him are waiting, Wayne discovers that Arnold knows too much about him. Meanwhile, Eileen tries to cope with the F.B.I., a ransom note and discovering that her husband has a mistress.
The film’s title reflects the clarity that the characters discover about the transcendent meaning of love and the value of human communication. This crime drama has a nonlinear plot that adds to the mystery because of the way the threads are woven together. Satisfying to see three A list actors in a major motion picture willing to act their age and do it very well.
The physical impact of a nuclear blast is only suggested and radioactivity simply ignored its horror post 9/11 is closer to the nerve than any Hannibal Lecter. As the humane Russian president (played by Irish actor Ciaran Hinds) asks softly, after being told missiles will be launched to take out U.S. command sites in the Rockies, “How many people are there in Colorado Springs?” The parts don’t quite mix, and the awesomeness of it all is trivialized in familiar spy-thriller clichés not especially recommended.
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