after read many good thing about it and i finally watch the clearing . with a cast of great actor like redford and dafoe and one would and at least and expect a decent film . after the closing credit have roll i be still shock by how bad and incoherent this movie actually be . be it suppose to be an art film . i do not think so cause it be too melodramatic for that . the bad thing be that the drama seem way too forced and unrealistic . the truth be that the script make absolutely no sense . first of all it never really explain the motive behind the action of any of the character and it just overblows their so call personal issue . what so bad about redford character life that he have to clear it . the fact that he cheat and occasionally and his wife . the guy be a millionaire who have have a good life and have a great son and a great daughter and a wife that love him ( and a girlfriend that also seem to be way above the generic mistress type of woman ) o and a new born grandson . the only problem seem to be that he . have be work hard for all his life to be a successful person . so what . it seem that his hard work have really pay off and there actually no real problem with his life . then we come to dafoe character representhere someone who be a manager for one of redford company and be fire . why be this guy unemployed for . eight year . it seem that he must have some kind of good education to have a job like the one he have in the first place and seem to have be a man with solid idea about his work ( a evident by his flashback of a conversation that he have with redford when he be work for him ) . why couldn not a man like that get a decent job and have a decent life . cause he be and once and fire . totally unrealistic . the film really try to portray these men a tortured soul or something and that come off a really cheesy . in fact i would say that if the creator of this film be try to say something about the american dream then they fail miserably . a for the actual event that take place during the movie and they also make no sense at all . in fact the last 20 minute of the film come off a an insult to the viewer intelligence and because there not one thing that take place that actually make any sense . redford seem to have about a 1000 chance to escape and yet he doesn not . at one moment he be ready to escape and yet he miss his chance cause he feel sorry for his kidnapper and doesn not want to hurt him . then dafoe pick up his gun from the water and the mud and which should be useless ( if you fire a shot with a gun after the gun have be in the water and mud it will possibly blow up in your face ) and the gun be in perfect condition . the way an unemployed and useless ( a portray in this film ) and mentally unstable character and manages to outsmart the entire fbi with such ease bring the narrative of this film to twilight zone level . the cheesy end ( with redford wife illusion ) come to finish the viewer off . this film pretend to be something and it not ( i. e a quality and sophisticated psychological thriller ) . unfortunately it fail so hard and that it become a disaster and that the word that describe this film best representa disaster .