The Clearing

Wayne Hayes is a wealthy businessman whose comfortable life with his wife, Eileen, is interrupted when he is abducted and held for ransom in a remote forest. The man holding him is Arnold Mack, an employee driven by financial desperation. While Wayne tries to negotiate with his captor, Eileen works with FBI agents awaiting word of her husband, and the ordeal exposes strains and secrets beneath the couple's settled life. Robert Redford plays Wayne, Helen Mirren plays Eileen and Willem Dafoe plays Arnold Mack. The supporting cast includes Alessandro Nivola, Matt Craven and Melissa Sagemiller.

The Clearing was released in July 2004 and runs 95 minutes. It is a drama with mystery and thriller elements, a German and American co-production from Fox Searchlight Pictures alongside Wildwood Enterprises and other partners. Pieter Jan Brugge directed from a screenplay by Justin Haythe, and Brugge produced with Palmer West and Jonah Smith. It was Brugge's first film as director after a long career as a producer.

The film took about 13 million dollars worldwide, a modest result against the presence of its three leads. On IMDb it holds 5.8 out of 10 from roughly 15,000 votes, and on TMDB it also stands at 5.8 from around 265 votes. A critics' rating of 5.9 from 131 reviews places it close to the audience scores, indicating a generally middling reception across both groups.