The Clearing
Fox Searchlight Pictures | Release Date: July 2, 2004 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
60
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 34 Critic Reviews
Positive:
20
Mixed:
14
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe 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
80
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
A beautiful and consistently engaging film, but that the filmmakers dared cast all three lead roles with actors who are over 40 makes it especially rewarding. Read full review
80
SalonStephanie Zacharek
Just when you think The Clearing is too simplistic to have any dramatic edge, the actors dig in and flesh out the stark framework of the story. Read full review
80
Washington PostStephen Hunter
It stays in character, small, human, bitter and sad. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter 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
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Redford gives one of his best performances ever in this taut, emotionally engrossing thriller. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The Clearing doesn't feel bound by the usual formulas of crime movies. What eventually happens will emerge from the personalities of the characters, not from the requirements of Hollywood endings. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
The performances are immaculate, especially Dafoe and the always-magnificent Mirren, who rarely gets a vehicle this worthy of her talent. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJack 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
75
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
The Clearing reminds us what a riveting presence he (Redford) can be. Read full review
70
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Classy, decorous and well acted, directorial debut by Hollywood producer Pieter Jan BruggePieter Jan Brugge is nicely crafted but too buttoned up to generate more than polite interest, much less the urgent excitement a kidnapping story might be expected to trigger. Read full review
70
Village VoiceDavid Ng
Kidnapping movies invariably crescendo to a fever pitch of procedural complexity. At a terse 91 minutes, The Clearing offers the reverse, a movie that only grows more conceptually minimal as the clock ticks down. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyChuck Wilson
Unsatisfying as crime drama but haunting as a meditation on marriage. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
I expected this to open out into another loud, thumping thriller. Instead it remains quiet and focused, exploring the couple's frayed relationship and the economic divide that separates the husband from his captor. Read full review
70
Dallas ObserverLuke Y. Thompson
Director Pieter Jan Brugge makes us feel their impatience and frustration even as they do. He's aided greatly in this by the casting of the wonderful Helen Mirren as Mrs. Hayes. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
The Clearing is what's known in the biz as an alternative for adult moviegoers. Which is to say the film is a performance-driven drama devoid of special effects and loud noises. On the contrary, it's a meditation on midlife weaknesses and compensation. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
The Clearing is being positioned as "adult counter-programming" for the summer season, but the benefits of seeing this movie may not be worth the patience necessary to get through it. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Classy but ultimately unsatisfying film. Read full review
63
USA TodayMike Clark
This is one of those moderately engrossing movies that seems to collapse all at once during the wrap-up, yet it's well-acted all around. Read full review
63
New York PostLou Lumenick
An extremely well- acted thriller that simply fails to thrill. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
The real problem is that Brugge and Haythe fail to satisfactorily pull off either the thriller or the marital deconstruction. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineMaitland 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
50
Film ThreatChristopher Zinsli
As austere as the unflappable Mr. Redford, The Clearing is an enterprising but ultimately unsatisfying exercise that promises quite a lot, but delivers very little. Read full review
50
PremiereGlenn Kenny
Wants to be at any given moment--wrenching, thought-provoking, surprising, heartbreaking--all it ever is is tastefully lifeless. It’s been beaten into a coma by its own scruples. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
It never adds up to much. There's a fair amount of fine acting (with that cast, how could there not be?), but it's in the service of a story that bubbles without ever boiling. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneAllison Benedikt
Just an OK thriller, full of standard scenarios and cookie-cutter characters. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
What's missing most in the film, though, is a palpable sense of tension. Read full review
50
The New York TimesDave Kehr
Mr. Brugge has perhaps succeeded in avoiding vulgar melodrama, but he has hit on something far worse -- a bloodless melodrama, with bottled water running in its veins. Read full review
50
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Ultimately, we find ourselves looking for the wrong sort of clearing: a way out. Read full review
50
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
The Clearing has been directed by a successful producer. In this case it's Pieter Jan Brugge, who brings seriousness and intelligence to his newly chosen craft, but little verve.
50
Boston GlobeTy Burr
An opaque kidnapping drama that features three expertly crafted performances operating on three different planets. Read full review
50
Portland OregonianM. E. Russell
Surprisingly dreary kidnapping drama. Read full review
40
The New YorkerAnthony Lane
A thriller stripped of thrills--or, even worse, a thriller that thinks of itself as somehow rising above the vulgar pleasures of excitement. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarc 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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