Clara's Heart

Plot

The Hart family—parents Leona and Bill and son David—grieve the loss of their infant daughter Edith. While traveling in Jamaica, they meet hotel maid Clara Mayfield and hire her as their housekeeper at their Baltimore lakefront estate. Bill and Leona separate; Bill dates an interior designer, and Leona moves to California with self-help author Dr. Peter Epstein.

David, feeling neglected, initially resists Clara but eventually bonds with her. The relationship fractures when David reads Clara's private letters from her son Ralphie. Clara reveals that Ralphie raped a woman and then assaulted her before committing suicide by jumping off a cliff.

She leaves without saying goodbye, and David reacts angrily. After visiting his mother in California, David returns to Baltimore, apologizes to Clara, and thanks her for helping him through the divorce. Clara tells him he will always be in her heart.

Production

The film marked Robert Mulligan's return to directing after six years, following the failure of Kiss Me Goodbye. Editor Sid Levin described Mulligan as aloof at first but later a caring, sensitive man. Mulligan was tense during shooting and grew angry when Levin raised concerns about scenes with Spalding Gray.

Only after principal photography did Mulligan discuss alternative ideas with Levin in the editing room. They found common ground on the scene where Clara confesses about her son. Filming took place in Talbot County, Maryland; the funeral scene was shot at Oxford Cemetery in Oxford, Maryland.

The Hart mansion was on Old Country Club Road near Easton, Maryland. Other locations included Saint Michaels, Baltimore, New York, and Port Antonio, Jamaica. This was MTM Enterprises' third and final theatrical production.

Reception

Clara's Heart received mixed reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 47% rating from 17 reviews.

Metacritic gives a weighted average score of 52 out of 100 from 12 critics, indicating mixed or average reviews. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times gave a 1 1/2-star review, praising Whoopi Goldberg's performance but panning the plot as ludicrous. Film professor Robert Keser later wrote that the film looks dated only in its virtues, praising its classical storytelling and lack of consumer culture pandering.