60
Metascore
34 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversThe pleasures of this endeavor, directed with a keen eye for detail by Pieter Jan Brugge, come from what the actors bring to the material.
- 70VarietyTodd McCarthyVarietyTodd McCarthyClassy, decorous and well acted, directorial debut by Hollywood producer Pieter Jan BruggePieter Jan Brugge is nicely crafted but too buttoned up to generate more than polite interest, much less the urgent excitement a kidnapping story might be expected to trigger.
- 70Village VoiceVillage VoiceKidnapping movies invariably crescendo to a fever pitch of procedural complexity. At a terse 91 minutes, The Clearing offers the reverse, a movie that only grows more conceptually minimal as the clock ticks down.
- 67Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEntertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumThe Clearing is what's known in the biz as an alternative for adult moviegoers. Which is to say the film is a performance-driven drama devoid of special effects and loud noises. On the contrary, it's a meditation on midlife weaknesses and compensation.
- 63ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliThe Clearing is being positioned as "adult counter-programming" for the summer season, but the benefits of seeing this movie may not be worth the patience necessary to get through it.
- 60The Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttThe Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttThe real problem is that Brugge and Haythe fail to satisfactorily pull off either the thriller or the marital deconstruction.
- 50Film ThreatFilm ThreatAs austere as the unflappable Mr. Redford, The Clearing is an enterprising but ultimately unsatisfying exercise that promises quite a lot, but delivers very little.
- 50PremiereGlenn KennyPremiereGlenn KennyWants to be at any given moment--wrenching, thought-provoking, surprising, heartbreaking--all it ever is is tastefully lifeless. It’s been beaten into a coma by its own scruples.
- 50The A.V. ClubKeith PhippsThe A.V. ClubKeith PhippsIt never adds up to much. There's a fair amount of fine acting (with that cast, how could there not be?), but it's in the service of a story that bubbles without ever boiling.
- 50Chicago TribuneChicago TribuneJust an OK thriller, full of standard scenarios and cookie-cutter characters.