Clara's Heart (1988)

In the throes of profound grief following the tragic demise of their infant daughter, Leona and Bill Hart (Kathleen Quinlan and Michael Ontkean) seek solace in the idyllic surrounds of a Jamaican resort, leaving their young son, David, alone in their stately lakeside home near Baltimore, Maryland. Amidst their mourning, the candid wisdom of Clara Mayfield (Whoopi Goldberg), a hotel chambermaid, resonates with Leona who, on a whim, invites her to be their live-in housekeeper. David, a teenager grappling with his own grief and loneliness, initially meets Clara with hostility. However, as his parents' marriage crumbles, he finds an unlikely ally in Clara. The news of his parents' decision to separate springs forth an unexpected closeness between David and Clara, transforming his initial resentment into a warm bond. As Leona and Bill immerse themselves in new relationships with an interior designer and a renowned self-help author respectively, David feels increasingly abandoned. His sense of alienation intensifies, driving him to spend more time with Clara, who now resides in a quaint Baltimore apartment. During one of their weekends together, David stumbles upon a heart-wrenching secret buried deep in Clara's past. A cache of hidden letters under her bed reveals an unsettling truth about her son, Ralphie. This discovery leads David on a journey of understanding and empathy, opening his heart to new experiences, and further deepening the bond he shares with Clara. The film "Clara's Heart" masterfully navigates the intertwining narratives of grief, friendship, and the power of unlikely alliances, all shrouded in the mystery of a housekeeper's haunted past.

Clara's Heart is a drama movie featuring Whoopi Goldberg.

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