The Clearing





I didn't enjoy this movie at all. Overrated.

C-

Fairly good. Nice ending, although it was somewhat confusing. 7.5/10 (B)

Could someone please tell me what in the last 5 minutes happend? There were problems with my disc.

Not too bad, but I thought the final scene was really cheesy. It wasn't your typical kidnapping drama. focusing more on character drama than thrills or suspense. My grade: B-.

The Clearing

Really pleased to have finally caught The Clearing. The first film from what I believe to be part of Robert Redford's career renaissance, preceding All is Lost, Lions for Lambs, and The Company You Keep.

This is a good film. Good performances. Nice, lean editing. Good pacing. It felt like a 90s thriller in many ways, such as The Client or The Pelican Brief.

B

Arnold posts Eileen the letter than Wayne wrote to her while he was in the woods. Then he goes to the supermarket and is caught because he spends too many 100 dollar bills, which the supermarket marks as suspicious and contacts the police with the serial numbers of the notes. Eileen receives the letter in the mail. She goes to bed that night and imagines Wayne is with her, and he repeats the line from the note ("If you love me, then I have everything I need") and then fades away. Fade to black.

I saw this once, around nine or ten years ago when it first came out on DVD. It is a solid film. The way it ultimately reveals the Redford character is already dead by the time his wife prepares the ransom payment gives it a bit of a creepy, sad, unusual edge.