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Movies / On DVD / The Clearing
The Clearing

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The Clearing (2004)

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Reviews Counted:126

Fresh:55

Rotten:71

Average Rating:5.6/10

Consensus: Though it has an excellent cast, this emotionally detached movie is the kind that one admires more than enjoys.

Runtime: 1 hr 34 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Wayne and Eileen Hayes (Robert Redford, Helen Mirren) appear to be living the American dream, until that dream becomes a living nightmare. A self-made tycoon, Wayne is seemingly invincible. But all... Wayne and Eileen Hayes (Robert Redford, Helen Mirren) appear to be living the American dream, until that dream becomes a living nightmare. A self-made tycoon, Wayne is seemingly invincible. But all illusions are shattered when he is kidnapped in broad daylight from their peaceful Pittsburgh estate. Under the microscope of a probing FBI investigation and her own painstaking introspection, Eileen too is a victim. Meanwhile, Wayne, with his fate resting in the hands of a kidnapper (Willem Dafoe) who has nothing to lose and everything to gain, finds himself in the most important negotiation ever - for his life.... The film marks the directorial debut for Academy Award®-nominated producer Pieter Jan Brugge (THE INSIDER). The original story was conceived by Brugge and first-time screenwriter Justin Haythe, who wrote the screenplay. Palmer West and Jonah Smith (THE UNITED STATES OF LELAND, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM) produced through their company Thousand Words, along with Brugge. Redford most recently starred in SPY GAME and THE LAST CASTLE and received an honorary Academy Award in 2002 for his work with the Sundance Institute. He was nominated for an Oscar® as Best Actor in a Leading Role for THE STING, and won two BAFTAs for Best Actor in BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID and THE DOWNHILL RACER. He won the Academy Award, the Directors Guild Award and the Golden Globe® as Best Director for ORDINARY PEOPLE; and was Oscar-nominated as Best Director for QUIZ SHOW, which also earned Golden Globe, DGA and BAFTA nominations. Additionally, he received Golden Globe directing nominations for THE HORSE WHISPERER and A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT. Mirren received Oscar nominations as Best Supporting Actress for GOSFORD PARK and THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE. Among her many additional accolades in both film and television are seven BAFTA nominations with three wins for Best Actress (PRIME SUSPECT, and PRIME SUSPECT 2 and 3). She recently completed the cable TV remake of THE ROMAN SPRING OF MRS. STONE. Dafoe portrayed the Green Goblin in the 2002 summer hit SPIDER-MAN. He received a 2001 Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE, and won the Independent Spirit Award, the LAFCA Award and Saturn Award for his unique performance as the vampire/actor. Additionally he was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor in PLATOON. He will next be seen in ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO and AUTOFOCUS. -- © Fox Searchlight [More]

Starring: Helen Mirren, Robert Redford, Willem Dafoe, Alessandro Nivola

Starring: Helen Mirren, Robert Redford, Willem Dafoe, Alessandro Nivola, Matt Craven, Melissa Sagemiller

Director: Pieter Jan Brugge

Director: Pieter Jan Brugge
Screenwriter: Justin Haythe
Story: Pieter Jan Brugge
Producer: Palmer West, Jonah Smith, Pieter Jan Brugge, Karen Tenkoff
Composer: Craig Armstrong
Studio: Fox Searchlight Pictures

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Reviews for The Clearing

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/01/06
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

What is essentially a fairly standard kidnap drama takes on extra interest due to its superb performances and an intriguing structure.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
06/19/04
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
04/29/09
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
10/18/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's pretty bland, even though the trailer would lead you to believe otherwise.

Full Review Source: FromTheBalcony | comment Comment
06/17/05
Bill Clark
Bill Clark
FromTheBalcony

...a very good thriller that could've (and should've) been a great one...

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
01/15/05
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

[Mirren, Redford, and Dafoe] cannot get a fire going in this cliché-soggy kindling.

Full Review Source: Christianity Today | comment Comment
12/31/04
Jeffrey Overstreet
Jeffrey Overstreet
Christianity Today

Lo que mantiene el interés es el cada vez más impredecible comportamiento de la esposa, animada además por una estupenda Helen Mirren (la mejor intérprete de la película).

Full Review Source: Uruguay Total | comment Comment
12/26/04
Enrique Buchichio
Enrique Buchichio
Uruguay Total

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sunday Times (Australia) | comment Comment
11/22/04
Sunday Times (Australia)
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Há dois bons filmes em Refém de uma Vida, mas estes se enfraquecem mutuamente em função da estrutura narrativa adotada pelo cineasta.

Full Review Source: Cinema em Cena | comment Comment
11/22/04
Pablo Villaca
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

To Read review visit http:/www.EmanuelLevy.com

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
11/14/04
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

...may not be the most exciting or well-focused drama of the year, but it manages to engage our intellect most of the time and keep us guessing well up to the end.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
11/07/04
John J. Puccio
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

A haunting film about the evil that men do.

Full Review Source: Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas) | comment Comment
09/10/04
Jonathan R. Perry
Jonathan R. Perry
Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas)

European sensibility controls The Clearing, a fact that might frustrate American moviegoers who arrive expecting something more flashy.

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
08/23/04
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

The Clearing is what it sounds like: stripped of ornamentation, undeluded about its subjects, lucid about the limits of human behavior.

Full Review Source: Nick's Flick Picks | comment Comment
08/10/04
Nick Davis
Nick Davis
Nick's Flick Picks

Talky and mawkish.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
08/08/04
Rex Roberts
Rex Roberts
Film Journal International

A thriller stripped of thrills -- or, even worse, a thriller that thinks of itself as somehow rising above the vulgar pleasures of excitement.

Full Review Source: New Yorker | comment Comment
08/01/04
Anthony Lane
Anthony Lane
New Yorker

What should make for a taut, suspenseful thriller drowns in an ocean of verbiage.

Full Review Source: Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN) | comment Comment
07/31/04
Bob Bloom
Bob Bloom
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

[I]t remains a mystery why anyone thought that this was a story that needed to be told, or who they thought would be engaged by the problems of these bland, distant people.

Full Review Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette | comment Comment
07/28/04
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
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Latest News for The Clearing

May 19, 2005: Hopper, Huppert, Keitel & Mirren to Visit "America"
A fistful of respected acting veterans are set to appear in Jerzy Skolimowski's "America," based on Susan Sontag's 2001 novel "In America," says The... More...

April 29, 2005: McCormack & Cochrane to "Shiver" Together
Rory Cochrane ("Dazed and Confused") and Mary McCormack ("Private Parts") will co-star in director Chris Gorak's "Forearm Shiver." Described by... More...

June 22, 2004: Abductions can be a great way to get to know someone. Opens in new window
More...

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