Film Review: Clara Makes You See Stars
To believe or not to believe? That is Clara’s question. Written and directed by Akash Sherman, Clara is a film that not only asks us to believe in life beyond the stars but also life within ourselves. It is a love story that uses real scientific methods and astronomical discoveries to parade through a romance that feels like two, very different planets uniting.
If Clara is the sun, Isaac is the moon, and that is both the detraction and attraction of their coupledom. Patrick J Adams as Isaac and Troian Bellisario as Clara are exceptional as their characters, which again is why they make their relationship feel curious and strangely convincing. By all means, Isaac is rigid, grouchy, ambitious, and focused. He is obsessed with making his name as an acclaimed astronomer by discovering life amongst the stars. There is no denying that he feels genuinely connected to his mission and the honor of achieving it; the problem is that he can be abrasive and even cut-throat in his determination to achieve it.
Clara is sweet, free-spirited, and smart. She is an artist working for him as an assistant, of which her open heart manages to enter his closed one. Bellisario manages to give Clara some depth and earthed accessibility so that she avoids the typical, romantic tropes of classic film-making; girl meets jerk and, for some reason, falls for him and inspires him to make a life-altering discovery (lol!). Yet, Clara’s own struggles with self-loathing allow fro bridging moments between her, Isaac, and our belief in their bond. Isaac’s feverish look for life beyond earth is sparked by his own anxieties and traumatic losses.These are two people that are looking to connect more deeply to themselves through each other, and THAT is the truest goal of love.
Bellisario and Adams have amazing chemistry. The real-life couple really do feel like stars aligning, and Akash’s usage of imagery, especially of the universe, makes their match feel heavenly. Cinematically, this film has some gorgeous, crisp shots that can transfer into mysticism. The film’s ability to combine the art of love with the seriousness of science is something to behold, especially because these two worlds are, often, thought to clash. Yet, for Akash, this film is a testament to belief, especially in what you love. Whether it is love for a person or love for a dream, how you dedicate yourself to someone or something is what defines its value, and that is true for art and science. Clara comes out in theaters on May 3.
