“Clara” Review by Melissa Sloter
July 10, 2019 4:46 pm |
Clara is a delightful Canadian romance/drama film, written and directed by Akash Sherman, and mistakenly billed as pure sci-fi. The science of the film is as much as it can be, true-to-life, until it’s not. Quantum entanglement has not been proven as a viable way of interstellar communication but the strength of human connection proves time and time again to be the most powerful force in the universe.
The combination of Patrick J Adams’ Dr. Isaac Bruno, a cynical data-driven scientist with a painful past, and Troian Bellisario’s Clara, an empathic and artistic Manic Pixie Dream Girl provides an insightful, if predictable, look at how science and art join together to unlock the beautiful mysteries of the universe. Their romantic trajectory mirrors the film’s scientific plot in a way that may not always feel organic but doesn’t detract from the film’s charm.
With the launch of TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite), the loss of his job, and the call to arms for all scientists to participate in this potentially groundbreaking data mining Dr. Bruno sets his mind on finding the number one earth-like planet and thus becoming integral in the search for life outside of our planet. He can’t do it alone and the under-qualified Clara is the only person to answer his add for a live-in data assistant so he reluctantly takes her on. Each with their own methods and reasons, they begin the search for life outside of their own.
Adams and Bellisario, a real-life married couple, give their all to this film and the audience can’t help but be in tune with each of their idiosyncrasies making their unlikely connection even more powerful. As the film reveals their personal reasons for searching, obsessively in Bruno’s case, for connective tissue in life outside of our planet the audience is drawn in by their personal stakes rather than the grandeur of a potentially life-altering scientific discovery.
In the end, the real magic of the universe is the human ability to connect to each other regardless of what barriers seemingly keep us apart. When searching for the meaning of life we most often come to the simple answer – “love”. And when those we love leave this earth they’re not gone – just changed and they change us with them when they go.
PCL Rating: Taste It
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: FRESH 🍅
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Tags: Akash Sherman, Clara 2019, Clara movie 2019, Melissa Sloter, movie review, Patrick J Adams, pop culture leftovers, Troian Bellisario
Categorised in: Movie Reviews
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