The Clearing

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Wayne Hayes is a well respected and successful businessman. He's called “the man Hertz and Avis are afraid of.� He and his wife Eileen are comfortable -- not just financially, but they have settled into that place in life where the passions may not run quite so hot, but still, the bond between them supports them. Life is good.

One day, the semi-retired Wayne heads off to work and doesn't come home. It's not a spoiler to say that he's been kidnapped. The film goes on in parallel stories of Wayne with his kidnapper, Arnold Mack, climbing up into the mountains while Eileen deals with the FBI and seeks to get Wayne back safely.

Along the way, we discover that things may not have been quite as comfortable as they seemed. Will Wayne and Eileen be able to tap into their love for each other in the crisis?

The Clearing serves primarily as a psychological thriller. It is a character-driven story that spends more time on who these people are than on the plot itself. The plot is still sufficiently well done to give a framework, but the real interest is in the three main characters, who are all portrayed by exceptional actors. As the story progresses, we see deeper and deeper into the characters as they deal with the increasing stress. We go back and forth between sympathizing with Wayne or with Arnold as they hike through the hills and talk about many things, each trying to control the situation. (Although Arnold’s gun does give him a considerable advantage.) We begin to wonder if Eileen really wants him back as she learns about things she hasn't known.

But at another level, The Clearing is a wonderful love story. It's not the kind of love story of boy meets girl, etc. It's a love story about discovering just what love means. Even without the physical passion that is often used in films to speak of love, we see as the film plays out just what the love that Wayne and Eileen share entails. It involves both pain and joy, toughness and tenderness. It may seem to be taken for granted when together, or the most important thing in the world when apart.

In the same way, we may become quite comfortable with the ways God is manifested in our lives. We may rarely spend time thinking specifically about God's love for us and our love for God. But still that love exists and grows. When crisis comes into our lives, we may at first be overwhelmed by a sense of separation -- God may seem to be far away from us. But as we move through those times of strife, that love may be the most essential thing -- sustaining us and bringing us again nearer to God -- because God's love is not so much tested by adversity as it is more fully discovered.

It is the love we see between Wayne and Eileen that really what makes this film worthwhile. To be sure, the acting is first-rate, as you would expect from Redford, Mirren and Dafoe. The thriller aspect is well done, but still not really exceptional. But to be able to watch as Wayne and Eileen’s love becomes more manifest as the crisis wears on provides a much deeper understanding of love than most films give us.

Indeed, we discover as we watch just how precious love can be even in times of separation and crisis -- perhaps especially in times of separation and crisis. It could be that Wayne and Eileen rarely thought about the love they shared on a day-to-day basis. But in the trouble that comes upon them, that love sustains them in ways they would never have suspected.