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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels July 22, 2004 Kidnap flick fails to inspire By Chris Honor� Tidings Reviewer Over the years, one of Hollywood's most dependable templates has been the kidnap film. There is nothing original about the plot in that there is only so much latitude to be found in the genre: someone is snatched, the family finds out, law enforcement becomes involved, often against the wishes of the family. However, frayed this story might be, if done with enough imagination, it can be compelling. "Ransom," released in 1996, starring Mel Gibson, is a good example of this formula done with a nice twist. Gibson, whose son is taken and held for ransom, refuses to pay and instead goes on television and offers a million dollar reward for information leading to the arrest of the kidnappers. This causes havoc and ratchets up the tension very effectively. When it comes to kidnap movies, prolonged, escalating tension is what the movie must create if it is to be satisfying. Movies of this type are always about a struggle for control between the perpetrators and the family and the police. The kidnappers insist that they will set the agenda, meaning how and where the money will be paid and the victim returned. The victim's family and the police do everything they can to take back control and prove they can outwit the bad guys. This struggle should build with an ever increasing tension. Also, it doesn't hurt if the film has a good ending, as trite and predictable as they may seem. Had Gibson's son been killed at the end, the movie would have fallen flat and the audience felt cheated, having themselves invested some real emotion in the outcome. So, that takes us to "The Clearing," just released, and getting lots of attention. In the opening scenes, at least, it's a has all the promise of a straightforward kidnap film. Wayne Hayes (Robert Redford), a wealthy businessman, married, two grown children, is grabbed at gunpoint by Walter (Willem Dafoe) from the driveway in front of his home. He is soon seen, hands cuffed, walking through the forest with Walter close behind. We see Hayes's wife, Helen (Helen Mirren), as she struggles to understand how and why he's gone missing. She calls the police and then her children home for support. The recipe is certainly there for a good film, not to forget the deep resumes of the actors. Redford, Dafoe, and Mirren are three of the best in the business, each with nominations and awards that go back decades. What is so surprising about this movie, then, is its almost total lack of emotion. Kidnap films are about desperation and hysteria and fear and the possibility of worst case outcomes. They should be a ride of sorts, with crackling highs and lows, with an overlay of abiding uncertainty. "The Clearing" has none of that. Mirren portrays the wife so coolly, with such detachment, that there are moments when it seems within the realm of possibility that she hired the thug to kidnap her husband. Shortly after receiving a ransom note, she and her daughter go for a swim, commenting on how long it's been since they've had a nice swim together, and how cool the water is. Then she goes shopping for clothes. There are many moments in the film that defy explanation or expectation. In kidnap films, no one is inclined to suspend his or her disbelief. In fact, the audience must be convinced with each frame that the stakes are high and the stakes are real and that no one is kidding around. Everyone-the relatives and the cops and the kidnappers - cares about how the scenario will play out. Kidnap movies are red hot, not wintery cool. But for some reason, that is exactly how the director and screenwriter decide to come at this story. As a result, the movie is frontloaded, taut and filled with promise, and then like a fully inflated balloon, deflates, ever so slowly, to the end. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams