Fine cast almost redeems ‘The Clearing’

“The Clearing” could have been a made-for-Lifetime movie, but its status is elevated by the quality of its cast and the strength of their performances.

Robert Redford stars as Wayne Hayes, a rental-car executive who’s kidnapped on the way to work outside his Pittsburgh estate by former employee Arnold Mack (Willem Dafoe), whose life has deteriorated since he was “let go” in corporate downsizing.

Meanwhile, back home, Helen Mirren is all restrained rage as Redford’s wife, Eileen, who learns more than she wanted to know about her husband and high school sweetheart as FBI agents investigate his absence.

All three principals are forced to examine their marriages during the abduction – an exercise that seems forced in itself. The title suggests both an actual place – possibly Arnold and Wayne’s destination after trekking through the woods – and an act of catharsis. Even the main fed (Matt Craven), who’s holed up in the Hayes’ mansion, takes time out from scrounging for clues to open up a bit about his own mangled marriage.

Dafoe, in a rare role that allows him to be stoic and slightly nerdy with neatly combed hair and putty-colored clothes, questions Redford’s character about whether he’s always been honest with his wife.

Redford’s character, who’s confident and condescending toward his captor, never shows an ounce of fear. Wayne actually seems to be in control of the situation much of the time – even though Arnold is pointing a gun at him – and fires back with questions about Arnold’s home life. (We find out it’s dreary, hence the kidnapping and its requisite ransom demand.)

Mirren, adopting an American accent, shows some fire of her own in one of the film’s better scenes, in which she confronts Wayne’s former mistress (Wendy Crewson) and hammers her for details about their affair, even though she probably doesn’t want to hear them.

But then the characters go and do stupid things that make you want to scream at the screen – a scene in which Wayne tries to choke Arnold in the rain is especially infuriating, despite being beautifully shot – and they do them in an unnecessarily complicated fashion.

Director Pieter Jan Brugge (an Oscar nominee for producing “The Insider”), working from a script by first-time writer Justin Haythe, develops Wayne and Arnold’s plot line during a single day. Eileen’s story, meanwhile, is intercut in a parallel manner even though it takes place over several weeks, which is confusing until the very end.

Injecting that kind of unconventionality into such a formulaic genre would have been welcome, if only it weren’t so jarringly unclear.

“The Clearing” HH

Wrong story: Strong actors are wasted in a story about an executive (Robert Redford) kidnapped by a former employee (Willem Dafoe), “let go” in corporate downsizing. Helen Mirren plays’s the executive’s wife. The kidnapping causes one and all to evaluate their marriages, naturally.

Rated: R rating is for strong language.

Now showing: tk

“The Clearing” HH

Wrong story: Strong actors are wasted in a story about an executive (Robert Redford) kidnapped by a former employee (Willem Dafoe), “let go” in corporate downsizing. Helen Mirren plays’s the executive’s wife. The kidnapping causes one and all to evaluate their marriages, naturally.

Rated: R rating is for language.

Now showing: Egyptian.