Wayne Hayes (Robert Redford) is a very successful Pittsburgh entrepreneur who has just sold his rental car business for 42 million dollars and now feels at a loss on what to do next. He has been married for 30 years to Eileen (Helen Mirren), and their two children Tim (Alessandro Nivola) and Jill (Melissa Sagemiller) are grown up. She has stayed in this relationship despite an affair Wayne had years ago with another woman (Wendy Crewson) from the office.
The lives of this wealthy couple are suddenly altered when Arnold Mack (Willem Dafoe), a former employee of Wayne's company, kidnaps him in broad daylight at their front gate. This riveting psychological drama is based on a tightly constructed screenplay by novelist Justin Haythe. The story runs on parallel tracks conveying the dread that Wayne feels in a situation where he has no control and the fear that overtakes Eileen once she realizes that her husband is in peril and they may never see each other again.
FBI Agent Fuller (Matt Craven) arrives at the Hayes mansion and fills Eileen, Tim, and Jill in on how they intend to handle the investigation and get Wayne back. Meanwhile, traveling by foot in a wooded area, Wayne learns that Arnold lost his job years ago and has been very unhappy living in the home of his wife's father. He knows many intimate details about the man he kidnapped and has planned every step of the journey they are taking together. Arnold is envious of Wayne's success and feels that it is not fair that a few very wealthy people should get so much of the pie while others get nothing. On the other hand, the successful businessman realizes that he has spent too much time on his work and not enough time deepening his relationship with Eileen. The jeopardy situation in which he finds himself now helps him get in touch with these primal feelings.
The Clearing marks the directorial debt of Pieter Jan Brugge who produced The Insider. This is one of the best movies in many a moon about the barriers that divide the haves from the have-nots in America. Economic inequality has shredded the fabric of society and led to more divisions. The have-nots are convinced that the notion that we are all in this life together and bound by the same rules no longer holds true — a belief that comes to the fore in the verbal exchanges between Arnold and Wayne. Although the businessman begins by trying to understand where this disgruntled and frustrated man is coming from, his true colors show up later as they approach the cabin where Arnold says he will hand him over to other kidnappers. Hats off to screenplay writer Justin Haythe for keeping class conflict as a major focus in a time when such sobering thematic material is rarely covered in Hollywood movies.
The performances by the three lead characters couldn't be better. Redford, Dafoe, and Mirren shine in the steady and convincing ways in which they bring to the surface the little details that make all the difference in the world as the kidnapping unfolds and moves into ever more dangerous territory. The Clearing mesmerizes with its richly developed characters and great performances.
