The Clearing

Name: The Clearing
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Released: July 2, 2004
Duration: 95 min
Rating: 60
Cast: Helen Mirren, Robert Redford, Willem Dafoe

2004

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 34 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 21 Ratings

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7.9

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7.9	Your Score
7.9	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 21 Ratings

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The Clearing

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Movie Details & Credits

Fox Searchlight Pictures | Release Date: July 2, 2004 | R

Starring: Helen Mirren, Robert Redford, Willem Dafoe

Summary: The story of a parallel emotional struggle between the victim of a kidnapping and the family that is left behind. (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Director: Pieter Jan Brugge

Genre(s): Drama, Thriller

Rating: R

Runtime: 95 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Ruthe Stein

The very best thrillers -- a select group to which The Clearing clearly belongs -- exploit subconscious fears that bubble up at vulnerable moments. Read full review

Jack Mathews

Redford has rarely done this kind of intimate drama, effectively a two-character play on the mountain, and he's very convincing. As is Dafoe. Read full review

Peter Travers

The pleasures of this endeavor, directed with a keen eye for detail by Pieter Jan Brugge, come from what the actors bring to the material. Read full review

Steven Rea

Classy but ultimately unsatisfying film. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine Maitland McDonagh

This anti-thriller radiates dread rather than suspense; it delivers creeping apprehension rather than adrenaline-pumping kicks, and the uniformly strong and finely calibrated performances more than compensate for the absence of technical razzle-dazzle. Read full review

Allison Benedikt

Just an OK thriller, full of standard scenarios and cookie-cutter characters. Read full review

Marc Savlov

I'm certainly not asking for car chases and explosions here, but this is a suspense film that's too "adult" for its own good, despite the fact that Redford, Dafoe, and Mirren (in particular) have rarely been more mature in their performances. Read full review

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User Reviews

May 28, 2006

(7.5) These films come along every so often - the ones teaming two or three of our best actors - and you feel compelled to watch them just to see if it works. Sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it really doesn't. What we get in The Clearing, however, is a movie that quite (7.5) These films come along every so often - the ones teaming two or three of our best actors - and you feel compelled to watch them just to see if it works. Sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it really doesn't. What we get in The Clearing, however, is a movie that quite impressively showcases not only the actors, but the effect that acting itself has on the quality of a film in general. Why this one succeeds so obviously where others have failed may be due to the fact that there's not much to the plot itself, or maybe it's that the three featured players are just that good. It's probably both. Either way, it's something to see Redford, Mirren, and Dafoe paint on what is essentially a blank canvas. As in Midnight Cowboy, the performances outlast the story.… Expand

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GrahamM.

Dec 7, 2005

This is really a good film. This was done well, has an interesting story, and the actors preform well.

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Film_Fanatic_15

Nov 22, 2010

In this Crime Thriller, Helen Mirren gives us an engaging performance where it seems as though she's not the center of attention, although trying to be. With a simple plot of kidnapping a husband that has more money than his pockets can hold, holding him for ransom. The film is short to whatIn this Crime Thriller, Helen Mirren gives us an engaging performance where it seems as though she's not the center of attention, although trying to be. With a simple plot of kidnapping a husband that has more money than his pockets can hold, holding him for ransom. The film is short to what I would expect for a thriller. The husband is found logging all the way out to the woods while his wife is at home with the FBI waiting for a phone call. It's almost as if you would have to skip to some scenes with only the intro and the end being the most suspensful and entertaining to watch. As the story unfolds, the tension stays the same. Most of the movie is carried through dialogue and the musical score, which there's nothing interesting about that. Helen Mirren doesn't seem to fit for the role, especially for an "okay" plot and short film overall.… Expand

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