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Crossing The Clearing
Character study leaves questions open-ended
by Clint Casey
Connections between people—real or imagined—are generally formed as an emotional defense mechanism between friends, enemies and lovers. People inherently need to connect with others to validate themselves, but delusional associations can prove dangerous (and fodder for psychological thrillers). In The Clearing, a kidnapper transposes his disappointment over being generally unsuccessful into aggression against an unsuspecting business magnate, and rationalizes an illogical connection between the two of them.
Early one morning, Wayne Hayes (Robert Redford) shares a light breakfast with his wife Eileen (Helen Mirren) before leaving for the office. The empty nesters’ lifestyle is an overt embodiment of the American dream: large home accented with luxury cars, well-adjusted children and a Golden Retriever. Eileen reminds Wayne of a dinner engagement, but he never arrives.
Tortured, Eileen is left to wonder about the whereabouts of her husband. Is he working late? Did he leave me for another woman? Did something awful happen to him? There are references to the questions simultaneously surging through her mind, but Mirren’s Eileen is stoic and underplayed, initially, with dramatic subtlety.
She contacts the police, and the investigation reveals Wayne’s car in an unusual part of town with neither sign of struggle nor foul play. She receives a note with the keys to Wayne’s Lexus, and the action shifts back to the events of that morning.
Arnold Mack (Willem Dafoe) accosts Wayne and forces him to drive across town and leave his vehicle, before taking him to a secluded forest. Arnold offers Wayne a pair of tennis shoes for their impending walk through the woods; it’s a sign of respect towards his victim. The pair travel for miles before Arnold tries to spark a conversation and break down the barrier between kidnapper and kidnappee, but Wayne is not, at first, open to his invitation.
Meanwhile, Eileen begins collapse. Without Wayne to inspire her, her role is redefined. During the course of the police investigation, she discovers a secret about Wayne’s infidelity, an affair she thought had ended long ago, and she silently begins to question the strength of her husband. Another note arrives, finally demanding a ransom and a sign that her husband is possibly still alive.
Back in the forest, the two of them finally begin speaking, and Wayne discovers that Arnold is a former co-worker who is more than familiar with Wayne and his seemingly ideal life. Years earlier, Wayne was an executive at the company where Arnold worked. Wayne left the company, and Arnold was fired months later. During the course of their walk, Arnold reveals that their destination is a cabin where he will leave Wayne with a group of kidnappers, and suggests that he was only hired to deliver him.
They gradually develop a relationship, discussing families and work experience, but Wayne begins to tire of not being in control of the situation. He realizes that Arnold is motivated by jealousy of his success, and his attitude shifts from acceptance to hatred.
The film’s dramatic thread is the ambiguity of whether the fabled cabin actually exists and the question of Arnold’s true involvement in the kidnapping.
The Clearing boasts top-notch acting from Redford, Dafoe and Mirren. The actors bring subdued emotional intensity to each character, leaving the audience to wonder what each is thinking in the moments of silence between dialogue. Redford’s Wayne noticeably agonizes over his marriage, wondering if he did enough to show his wife his love and that she was equally important to his stability. He also questions his decision to make his career a priority over being a father to his children. Wayne’s struggle and development serves as the film’s strongest underlying theme, suggesting that, just as he’s been emotionally absent for a long time, many people don’t know what they have until it’s threatened or taken away.
Mirren’s skillfully underplayed Eileen deteriorates over the course of the ordeal. As the sole character who recognizes the importance of family, the only thing she calls into question is her husband’s moral fiber. However, because of her love and need for him, she overlooks and accepts his flaws.
Perhaps the most emotionally complex and interesting character, Dafoe’s Arnold Mack leaves more to the imagination to fill gaps in personality. Mack has been out of work for eight years and is jealous of Wayne’s success. (Arnold spent his years of unemployment tracking Wayne’s accomplishments.) And though he’s not directly responsible for his dismissal, Wayne concurrently embodies all that Arnold respects, envies and despises. Dafoe’s likable antagonist is vulnerable, generally intelligent and sympathetic; he’s placed in a situation beyond his control, but he’s not strong enough to pull himself out.
Overall, the means of The Clearing are worth far more than the film’s end—which is a bit disappointing. But the way the characters’ connect without interaction, or even sharing scenes, make the journey a trip worth taking.
July 15, 2004 • Vol. 14, No. 29
© 2004 Metro Pulse
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