There will not be a more understated, unorthodox or uncompromising thriller than The Clearing to come out of Hollywood this year. Former producer-turned-director Pieter Jan Brugge has crafted a startlingly restrained debut, which should be appreciated as much for what it doesn't do as for what it does.
There are no explosions or special effects, no climactic fight scene or twist ending—no conventions whatsoever that pander to test-sensitive producers or undemanding audiences.
The last Hollywood thriller to behave in this manner was Roger Mitchell's underappreciated Changing Lanes. Like that film, The Clearing is not bound by standard genre rules, but is more interested in exploring distinctions between class and studying human emotions. It's a minor miracle when such fare gets made at all.
The story involves a coy Arnold Mack (Willem Dafoe) kidnapping a fairly well-to-do Wayne Hayes (Robert Redford) and taking him for a little stroll through the woods. Before long, we learn that Arnold was once an employee of Wayne's, and is now a little down on his luck. But that has nothing to do with the present circumstances, he assures his captive. Nothing personal; he's just doing his job, which he claims is only to deliver Wayne to an unspecified pickup location.
Waiting at home is Wayne's wife Eileen, played by Helen Mirren. In a lesser movie, her character would be a helpless standby, accorded only a few shots of crying on cue. Instead there is significant screen time devoted to the range of feelings that interrupt her daily life. But rather than explode in overwrought sensation, she keeps everything hidden, smoldering beneath the surface.
Dafoe, too, is so difficult to read that we're never sure what his true intentions are. His performance reverberates off Redford's, which is surprisingly unguarded. "There are levels to deception," Dafoe remarks, a line that resonates throughout the length of the picture.
It's only natural to assume that Brugge, who produced both Heat and The Insider, must have learned a thing or two about suspense from working with Michael Mann (Ali, The Insider). He makes interesting use of time lines (I can't elaborate without spoiling the ending), and as the ransom drop sequence plays out in near silence, we realize the effectiveness of quiet.
Be warned: If you like lots of action, special effects, hip characters and easily digestible narratives, The Clearing is not for you.