The Clearing: 5.5 out of 10.
This movie was missing something. I'm not sure what, but it lacked something that would have propelled it beyond such an average score. It's well acted and not bad at all, but it's a little uneventful for a kidnapping flick. It's a slow, plodding character study but the characters aren't particularly interesting. I was rooting for the kidnapper!
If anyone's seen this, there's a scene between Dafoe and Redford that kills me. Hell, it's unlikely anyone reading this is going to watch "The Clearing" and if you are you can just stop reading now because there be spoilers ahead. Redford, a supposedly clever man who is being led through a forest of sorts at gun point by Dafoe, manages to elude his kidnapper and even beats him into submission. Dafoe is now unconscious and his gun is a good twenty feet away. At this point, Redford could a) secure the weapon and perhaps even shoot Dafoe to ensure he's dead, b) run away and/or c) keep an eye on Dafoe to ensure he's really dead. Instead, Redford turns away from the unconscious Dafoe and leans against a tree, catching his breathe. While Redford stands there, confident Dafoe is dead and preparing his next move, Dafoe gains consciousness, stands up and picks up his gun. WTF? The first thing I'd do in that situation is pick up the gun and make sure Dafoe isn't just down for a five minute cat nap.
Roy Hobbs should know better.
