The Clearing
The Clearing Image
See the trailer
Metascore
60 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 34 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.0 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 23 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
Rate this:
  • Starring: Helen Mirren, Robert Redford, Willem Dafoe
  • Summary: The story of a parallel emotional struggle between the victim of a kidnapping and the family that is left behind. (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 34
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 34
  3. Negative: 0 out of 34
  1. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Ruthe Stein
    100
    The very best thrillers -- a select group to which The Clearing clearly belongs -- exploit subconscious fears that bubble up at vulnerable moments.
  2. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kevin Thomas
    80
    A beautiful and consistently engaging film, but that the filmmakers dared cast all three lead roles with actors who are over 40 makes it especially rewarding.
  3. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Stephanie Zacharek
    80
    Just when you think The Clearing is too simplistic to have any dramatic edge, the actors dig in and flesh out the stark framework of the story.
  4. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Kirk Honeycutt
    60
    The real problem is that Brugge and Haythe fail to satisfactorily pull off either the thriller or the marital deconstruction.

See all 34 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 16
  3. Negative: 2 out of 16
  1. JW
    7
    (7.5) These films come along every so often - the ones teaming two or three of our best actors - and you feel compelled to watch them just to see if it works. Sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it really doesn't. What we get in The Clearing, however, is a movie that quite impressively showcases not only the actors, but the effect that acting itself has on the quality of a film in general. Why this one succeeds so obviously where others have failed may be due to the fact that there's not much to the plot itself, or maybe it's that the three featured players are just that good. It's probably both. Either way, it's something to see Redford, Mirren, and Dafoe paint on what is essentially a blank canvas. As in Midnight Cowboy, the performances outlast the story.… Expand
  2. GrahamM.
    7
    This is really a good film. This was done well, has an interesting story, and the actors preform well.
  3. Film_Fanatic_15
    6
    In this Crime Thriller, Helen Mirren gives us an engaging performance where it seems as though she's not the center of attention, although trying to be. With a simple plot of kidnapping a husband that has more money than his pockets can hold, holding him for ransom. The film is short to what I would expect for a thriller. The husband is found logging all the way out to the woods while his wife is at home with the FBI waiting for a phone call. It's almost as if you would have to skip to some scenes with only the intro and the end being the most suspensful and entertaining to watch. As the story unfolds, the tension stays the same. Most of the movie is carried through dialogue and the musical score, which there's nothing interesting about that. Helen Mirren doesn't seem to fit for the role, especially for an "okay" plot and short film overall.… Expand

See all 16 User Reviews

Trailers

Current Movie Releases

Full List »
  1. Star Trek Into Darkness
    Metascore: 72
  2. Iron Man 3
    Metascore: 62
  3. 42
    Metascore: 62
  4. Evil Dead (2013)
    Metascore: 57
  5. The Croods
    Metascore: 55
  6. The Great Gatsby
    Metascore: 54
  7. Oblivion
    Metascore: 54
  8. Pain & Gain
    Metascore: 43
  9. Olympus Has Fallen
    Metascore: 41
  10. G.I. Joe: Retaliation
    Metascore: 41
  11. The Host
    Metascore: 35
  12. Tyler Perry's Temptation
    Metascore: 27
  13. Scary Movie 5
    Metascore: 11
All Current Movies »