The Clearing (2004)

Director:

Pieter Jan Brugge

Writers:

Pieter Jan Brugge (story) and
Justin Haythe (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

20 August 2004 (Spain)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

You only really know what you have when your'e about to lose it.

Plot:

As an executive is held captive by an employee, it's up to his wife to deliver the ransom.

Plot Keywords:

Ransom | FBI | Forest | Marriage | FBI Agent

Cast

Robert Redford	...	Wayne Hayes
Helen Mirren	...	Eileen Hayes
Willem Dafoe	...	Arnold Mack
Alessandro Nivola	...	Tim Hayes
Matt Craven	...	Agent Ray Fuller
Melissa Sagemiller	...	Jill Hayes
Wendy Crewson	...	Louise Miller
Larry Pine	...	Tom Finch
Diana Scarwid	...	Eva Finch
Elizabeth Ruscio	...	Cindy Mack
Gwen McGee	...	Agent Kathleen Duggan
Sarah Koskoff	...	Lane Hayes
Graciela Marin	...	Graciela
Mike Pniewski	...	Detective Kyle Woodward
Geoff McKnight	...	John Dewitt
Tom Arcuragi	...	Foodland Manager (as Tom E. Arcuragi)
Audrey Wasilewski	...	Foodland Cashier
Peter Gannon	...	Agent Elkins
Jacqi Loewy	...	Agent Crew
Matt Miller	...	Another Agent
Mark Emery Moore	...	Agent Sullivan
Joel Nunley	...	Waiter (as Joel S. Nunley)
Ted Manson	...	Robert Gidden
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tony Amen	...	Customer in Supermarket (uncredited)
Jackie Goldston	...	Reporter (uncredited)
CB Hackworth	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Alex Houvouras	...	Reporter (uncredited)
John W. Iwanonkiw	...	FBI Driver (uncredited)
William Kania	...	Subway Patron (uncredited)
Jackson Nunn	...	Subway Passanger (uncredited)
Sarah E. Spencer	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Nathan Wright	...	Airport Passenger (uncredited)
John Yost	...	FBI Agent (uncredited)

Directed by
Pieter Jan Brugge

Writing credits
Pieter Jan Brugge		(story) and
Justin Haythe		(story)
Justin Haythe		(screenplay)

Produced by
Pieter Jan Brugge	....	producer
Jawal Nga	....	associate producer
Jonah Smith	....	producer
Dara Weintraub	....	line producer
Palmer West	....	producer

Original Music by
Craig Armstrong

Cinematography by
Denis Lenoir

Film Editing by
Kevin Tent

Casting by
Victoria Thomas		(as Vicki Thomas)

Production Design by
Chris Gorak

Art Direction by
Paul Huggins

Set Decoration by
Marthe Pineau

Costume Design by
Florence-Isabelle Megginson

Makeup Department
Roxanne Ferguson	....	hair stylist
Jane Galli	....	makeup department head
Virginia G. Hadfield	....	hair department head (as Virginia Hadfield)
Taylor Knight	....	makeup assistant: Atlanta
Gary Liddiard	....	makeup artist: Mr. Redford
Tena Parker	....	hair stylist: Mr. Redford (as Tena Parker-Liddiard)
Judy Ponder-Patton	....	key makeup artist
Michael Riley	....	hair assistant: Atlanta
Denise Tunnell	....	makeup artist
Patty Bell	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Kimberly Rach	....	production supervisor
Dara Weintraub	....	unit production manager
Patrick Esposito	....	post-production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Alison C. Rosa	....	second assistant director
John Rusk	....	first assistant director

Art Department
James Brothers	....	on-set dresser
Matthew Butler	....	key greensman: Atlanta
Christopher Didiot	....	set dresser
David Dreyer	....	set dresser
Daniel B. Foster	....	lead man
Brian Avery Galligan	....	assistant property master
Sammy Ray Hill	....	greens person
Michelle Ihnot	....	set dresser
Gregory Jones	....	greensman: Pittsburgh
Kenneth J. Kellers	....	leadman: Pittsburgh
Lauri Mancuso	....	scenic painter
Swift Moseley	....	key greensman
Mark Nave	....	carpenter
Gregg Perez	....	set dresser
Lance Totten	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Christopher Assells	....	sound effects editor
Douglas Axtell	....	sound
Lon Bender	....	supervising sound editor
John Bires	....	sound engineer
Bryan Bowen	....	sound effects editor
Bob Bowman	....	first assistant sound editor
Harry Cohen	....	sound effects editor
Gary Coppola	....	sound re-recording mixer: temp
Mick Davies	....	sound utility
Marc Fishman	....	sound re-recording mixer
Randy Kelley	....	sound effects editor
David Kudell	....	assistant sound editor
Tony Lamberti	....	sound re-recording mixer
Paul Longstaffe	....	dialogue editor
Anna MacKenzie	....	supervising sound editor
Michael McNerney	....	foley mixer
Carey Milbradt	....	foley mixer
Chris Navarro	....	adr recordist
Todd Niesen	....	sound effects editor
Drew Ponder	....	cable person
George E. Simpson Jr.	....	cableperson
Unsun Song	....	sound recordist
Paul P. Soucek	....	sound editor
Peter Staubli	....	sound effects editor
Greg Steele	....	adr mixer
Karen Vassar Triest	....	foley editor (as Karen Vassar)
John Soukup	....	sound transfer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Lisa Reynolds	....	special effects assistant
Bob Shelley	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Cosmas Paul Bolger Jr.	....	visual effects producer
Cosmas Paul Bolger Jr.	....	visual effects supervisor
Heather Ignarro	....	visual effects coordinator
Tommy Tran	....	digital effects artist
Toby Wilkins	....	Inferno artist

Stunts
Gavin Buhr	....	stunts
Charles Croughwell	....	stunt coordinator (as Charlie Croughwell)
Dan Shea	....	stunt double

Camera and Electrical Department
Ken Bazal	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Kyle Boorman	....	electrician
Bobby Brown	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Jarrett Buba	....	additional electrician
Daniel Casey	....	assistant camera
Jorgen Christenen	....	set lighting
Steve Cohagan	....	rigging gaffer: Pittsburgh
Stephen Crowley	....	best boy electric
Jeff W. Curtis	....	dolly grip: "b" camera
Jeff W. Curtis	....	grip
Eric Dilucente	....	electrician
David Ellis	....	rigging electrician
John Evans	....	electrician
Donny Fowler	....	electrician
Jos'h Hancher	....	film loader
Darryl Humber	....	dolly grip: Atlanta/Pittsburgh
Scott Ippolito	....	second assistant camera
Chris Lugar	....	rigging electrician
Marc Margulies	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera
Jack McCollum	....	electrician
David McLean	....	electrician
Mark Emery Moore	....	Steadicam operator
Greg Morse	....	24 frame video
Jean-Pierre Nutini	....	best boy
Dick Oakes	....	gaffer
Jesse Wayne Parker	....	key grip
Bryan Powell	....	camera intern
Mike Repeta	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Bruce Robinson	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Jacob Ross	....	grip
Monty Rowan	....	camera operator
Monty Rowan	....	director of photography: second unit
Ted Sapp	....	best boy grip
Chad Schroeder	....	electrician
Art Schultz	....	set lighting technician
Lorey Sebastian	....	still photographer
Jared Seltzer	....	camera production assistant
Nick Tallo	....	grip

Casting Department
Nicole Abellera	....	casting assistant
Janelle Cochrane	....	casting associate: Atlanta
Kim Coleman	....	casting associate
Shirley Fulton Crumley	....	location casting
Patrick Ingram	....	extras casting assistant
Lori Maloney	....	extras casting: Atlanta
Caitlin McKenna-Wilkinson	....	adr voice casting
Nancy Mosser	....	extras casting director
Nancy Mosser	....	location casting
Karen Faith Rothwell	....	casting assistant
Marty Cherrix	....	extras casting: Noth Caroline (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Daniel George	....	set costumer
Nan McCulloch	....	set costumer
Stephen K. Randolph	....	costumer: Mr. Redford
Linda N. Robinson	....	costume dyer
Stephanie Siemens	....	costume supervisor
Sanford Slepak	....	costume shopper
Sanford Slepak	....	costumer

Editorial Department
David Berman	....	apprentice editor
Charles Bunn	....	assistant editor
Gary Burritt	....	negative cutter
Carlos M. Castillón	....	apprentice editor
Michael Hatzer	....	color timer
Richard B. Molina	....	assistant editor: avid
Jami Philbrick	....	post-production assistant
Alexis Seymour	....	first assistant editor
Lonnie A. Mathes	....	post-production assistant (uncredited)

Music Department
David Donaldson	....	music programmer
Matt Dunkley	....	conductor
Matt Dunkley	....	orchestrator
Geoff Foster	....	score recordist
Christine H. Luethje	....	music editor
Nick Mera	....	music preparation
Roy Prendergast	....	music editor
Julia Michels	....	executive in charge of music (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Janet Perrotti	....	driver
Cindi Randall	....	transportation captain
Pamela C. Ray	....	driver
Patricia Sammons	....	driver
Marc Scott	....	transportation coordinator
Windi Robinson	....	driver: cast trailer (uncredited)

Other crew
Jessica Abrams	....	production coordinator: Pittsburgh
Gerard Averill	....	supervising location manager
Gloria Winship Ayon	....	head animal coordinator
Frawley Becker	....	location manager
Cosmas Paul Bolger Jr.	....	title designer: main titles
Rozzanna Bonesso	....	production secretary: Pittsburgh
Casey Brown	....	stand-in
Chris Burns	....	stand-in
Steve Cainas	....	production coordinator
Elizabeth Cline	....	set production assistant
Bella Cosper	....	stand-in
Michele Cusick	....	production assistant
Nathan Earley	....	set production assistant: Asheville
Joan Eisenberg	....	unit publicist
Eric L. Fersten	....	assistant: Ms. Weintraub
John Findley	....	location scout (as John Findley III)
Jordan Brendan Finnegan	....	set production assistant: preparation, Los Angeles
Emma Ford	....	personal assistant
Benjamin Fretheim	....	production assistant
Larry Geyer	....	set production assistant: Pittsburgh
Chris Hinton	....	production assistant
Lance Holland	....	location manager: Asheville
Stephen Hough	....	assistant location manager
Donna Kail	....	assistant: Mr. Redford
Alisa Katz	....	assistant: Mr. Brugge
Stephanie Lewis	....	assistant: Mr. Smith and Mr. West
Shane Meador	....	production assistant
Kari Mills	....	production assistant
Brian Niemczyk	....	set production assistant
Rosemary Orlando	....	assistant production coordinator
Mike Riley	....	co-location manager
Janna Stern	....	script supervisor
Marsha L. Swinton	....	production accountant
Birdie Talanca	....	first assistant accountant
Susan Van Apeldoorn	....	craft service
Trish Vengoechea	....	payroll accountant
Teresa M. Yarbrough	....	production coordinator
Craig T. Brown	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Doug Mackenzie	....	location scout (uncredited)
James A. Mahathey	....	location manager (uncredited)
Hope Anne Nathan	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Thanks
Jeroen Krabbé	....	special thanks
Michael Mann	....	special thanks
Alan J. Pakula	....	dedicatee
Hannah Pakula	....	special thanks
Billy Weber	....	special thanks
Bryce Guy Williams	....	special thanks
Edward Zwick	....	special thanks (as Ed Zwick)

Production Companies

• Fox Searchlight Pictures
• Thousand Words
• Wildwood Enterprises
• Blue Ridge Motion Pictures
• Clearing, The
• Mediastream Dritte Film GmbH & Co. Beteiligungs KG

Distributors

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (2004-2005) (worldwide) (all media)
• Fox Searchlight Pictures (2004) (USA) (theatrical)
• Hispano Foxfilms S.A.E. (2004) (Spain) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Italia (2004) (Italy) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Netherlands (2004) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2004) (Japan) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox de Argentina (2004) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Odeon (2004) (Greece) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2005) (Brazil) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2005) (Brazil) (VHS)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (VHS)
• Film1 (2012) (Netherlands) (TV) (limited)
• Gativideo (2005) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Gativideo (2005) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Digital Filmworks (visual effects)
• Pacific Title (opticals)

Other Companies

• Air Lyndhurst Studios  score mixed at (as Air Lyndhurst, London)
• Air Studios  solo violin recorded at
• Dakota Music Services  music preparation
• DeLuxe Laboratories  color timing
• Edwards Design Group  end titles
• Film Art  artwork
• Film Finances  completion guarantor
• IVC  digital mastering
• Lightnin' Production Rentals  transportation equipment
• North Carolina Film Office  film commission
• North Carolina Film Office  filmed in
• Pacific Title  opticals
• Phoenix Soundworks  foley recorded at
• Rudolfinum Concert Hall  score recording
• Scarlet Letters  titles
• Soundelux  sound post-production
• Tomkats Catering  catering
• Varèse Sarabande  soundtrack published by
• Vine Street Studios  sound re-recording (as Todd-AO Vine Street)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Netherlands:MG6 | Singapore:PG | UK:12A | USA:R | Iceland:12 | Malaysia:U | Canada:PG (Ontario) | South Korea:15

Filming Locations:

Georgia, USA

Company:

Fox Searchlight Pictures

Trivia:

First film featuring Robert Redford to be screened at the Sundance Film Festival.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Eileen returns home from the FBI and checks the mail, see grabs the top two letters from the pile, but in the next shot she has three letters in her hand.

Quotes:

Eileen Hayes:You know, I never talked to him about it. I never ask him why. I just told him to get rid of her, and we got on with our life. I didn't want to know. I love him, and she admires him.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Goedemorgen Nederland: Episode dated 21 October 2004" (2004)

Soundtrack:

Happy Birthday to You

Waste of good talent

I wanted to like this film, and certainly there is room for a psychological character-driven movie which doesn't go for the cheap thrills. Yet, for the enjoyment of a movie, one requires a believable plot, some pacing and editing, and a feeling of involvement. In The Clearing, what starts out as an intriguing mystery, with a kidnapping and unknown motives, turns into a slow draggy pointless exercise. Nothing much really happens, and the so-called character-driven angles (as expressed by the director in his commentary) really don't add up to much.

Fine actors are wasted here. Robert Redford does his best trying to engage and outwit Willem Dafoe. Dafoe brings a bit of nuance to his character, insofar as one can feel somewhat sympathetic towards him. It's unfortunate that Dafoe has been typecast as a villain, he's gone into the Christopher Walken Hall of Fame of Typecasting.

Wendy Crewson is usually good but her character's entry into the movie was brief and contrived, and I was wondering why they even bothered to introduce her character. By far the biggest waste of talent was Helen Mirren. In the director's commentary, all I heard was how fabulous a talent she is. I agree, she's a great actress. Then why was she not used properly? Only towards the climax of this movie does she get to show herself, but by then the viewer has quit caring.

Too bad, I liked parts of this movie, but as another reviewer wrote, once you're halfway in you know the film is not going to get much better.