Arts & Entertainment
 

Emotions run low in 'Clearing'

By Amy Perez
The Daily Cougar

Self-made millionaire Wayne Hayes (Robert Redford) leaves for work one morning with a promise to his wife to return home by 6 p.m. for dinner with a few friends. But he never makes it. After the drawn-out dinner with the guests later that evening, his worried wife Eileen (Helen Mirren) reports him missing and within days, ransom letters are sent to the Hayes residence, FBI agents arrive and make themselves at home and the Hayes' grown children show up to support their distressed mother.

Meanwhile, in a secluded forest not far from the couple's home, captor Arnold Mack (Willem Dafoe) leads Wayne at gunpoint to a hunting cabin deep in the woods.

Despite the enormous potential for a film with such a talented cast, the majority of The Clearing is dry dialogue between Dafoe and Redford as their characters trek through greenery and bicker at each other. Dafoe, known for his exceptional portrayals of the emotionally unstable, comes across as more confused about being in the woods than determined to cash in on his captive's loot. Redford's businessman Wayne disappears too early in the movie for viewers to care, and the man's assets -- a mansion, a rental car company built from the ground up and two grown children who adore him -- make it even harder for audience members to empathize with him.

Mirren, on the other hand, delivers with her infinite range of facial expressions and deliberate body language that communicates the emotions of a woman who was questioning her love for her husband, and now faces the reality that he may never return. 

Certain scenes in The Clearing appear so squeaky clean that the plights of the characters deflate. And even though director Pieter Jan Brugge attempts to present this story in a clear, this-could-happen-to-you way, the end result falls flat to reveal only dialogue devoid of emotion and actors making the most of stale material.

The Clearing

Fox Searchlight Pictures

Starring: Robert Redford, Willem Dafoe

Rated: R

The verdict: The Clearing is clearly boring.

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