The Clearing

(Herald rating: ***)

Exceptional cast, intriguing premise, high production values make a subtle psychological thriller. Wayne Hayes (Robert Redford) is a businessman who has achieved far more than he hoped for. Sometimes he has to pinch himself that he's living in an affluent suburb of Pittsburgh with Eileen (Helen Mirren), his wife of 30 or more years, whose days are divided between swimming in the pool and shopping at designer stores.

The outwardly happy couple - and their stories - are split when Wayne is kidnapped in his driveway. Eileen is a prisoner in her home, keeping calm for her grown children Tom (Alessandro Nivola) and Jill (Melissa Sagemiller), tending to a live-in FBI agent (Matt Craven), trying to make decisions over the ransom demands.

Miles away are Arnold - what kind of name is that for a kidnapper? - played icily by Willem Dafoe, and Wayne. Arnold tells Wayne that he's only the delivery boy, taking him to a cabin on a mountain to meet "the others" for a cut of the takings. On the way the unlikely combination will have an extended conversation about, among many topics, Arnold's motivation and Wayne's marriage.

There is a twist in the tale, revealed ultimately in the movie and expanded in the only extra on the DVD, a commentary by director Peter Jan Brugge, writer Justin Haythe, and editor Kevin Tent. Highly recommended, especially for those tired of formulaic blockbusters.