Movie Review: “Clara” Starts Out Strong But Drowns In The End

An obsessive astronomer and a curious artist form an unlikely bond which leads them to a profound, scientific discovery.

I love a good sci-fi love story and this one definitely starts out pretty strong but unfortunately drowns in the end.

Dr. Isaac Bruno (Patrick J. Adams) is a professor obsessed with finding other planets that show evidence of life. After being caught misusing faculty telescope data, he is dismissed from his position. Refusing to give up, he posts an ad seeking an assistant who can help him track data in exchange for room and board. A young woman named Clara (played by real wife Troian Bellisario) shows up at his apartment with her dog showing interest in the job. With nowhere else to go, no education, or experience in astronomy, she schmoozes her way in and slowly warms up to Isaac.

As the film unravels, we find more about Isaac’s personal life, which is pretty sad. He isolates himself and is completely consumed in his work. He does, however, have one good friend and colleague in Dr. Charlie Durant (Ennis Esmer) who cares and looks out for him. Most of his sadness is due to a split with wife Dr. Rebecca Jenkins (Kristin Hager) with whom their first born died at birth.

Clara seems to fill a temporary void in Isaac’s life, showing him that everything does not need to be seen through data and proof but by trusting your feelings. As a militant skeptic, Isaac struggles with this idea but this topic seems to be the basis of this film. The movie takes a turn when we get to a point where Clara and Isaac have developed an intimate friendship but the twist is Clara has a serious autoimmune disease she has never revealed to Issac.

I would like to have seen more backstory of the relationship between Isaac and his ex-wife. She is very important to the story because, in the end, she is the only one with enough access in their field to assist him in furthering his research. I feel that the sad ending of Clara’s illness was a letdown. Isaac’s life was sad as it is. He was dealing with the loss of his firstborn, the ending of his marriage and the struggle of his career. Then he meets someone who was unlikely a great match for him, falls in love, and then she falls ill. I feel like he just couldn’t catch a break. And then she dies. But there is great news, he finally discovers life on another planet!

A sad, sappy movie with lots of great science, shaky story but amazing acting. I would still, most certainly, recommend this film.

In theaters and On Demand May 3rd

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