Coming Attractions are devoted to soon-to-be released films or those available on Video on Demand.
CLARA’S GHOST
by Paulette Reynolds
December 18, 2018
Director: Bridey Elliott
Screenplay: Bridey Elliott
Starring Paula Niedert Elliot/Clara, Chris Elliott /Ted, Abby Elliott /Julie, Bridey Elliott /Riley, Haley Joel Osmont/Joe, Isidora Goreshter/Adelia
by Paulette Reynolds
December 18, 2018
Director: Bridey Elliott
Screenplay: Bridey Elliott
Starring Paula Niedert Elliot/Clara, Chris Elliott /Ted, Abby Elliott /Julie, Bridey Elliott /Riley, Haley Joel Osmont/Joe, Isidora Goreshter/Adelia
Clara Reynolds lives in a jumbled world of flights of fancy, hoarding boxes of memories and nameless fears that live on the edge of her convoluted psyche. And it’s no wonder. Her husband Ted is a famous Emmy award winning television star, spewing a vulgar string of words while projecting a phony exterior as a loving person. He belittles her every chance he gets, encouraging an atmosphere of ‘let’s get mommy’ in their two daughters.
Daughters Julie and Riley are whining pampered poodles, part of the Sweet Sisters show on TV. They, along with their famous father spend their days complain about their life, polishing their resentments and making fun of Clara.
Feeling isolated from her family and wandering around their secluded Victorian house in Connecticut, Clara desperately wants to be relevant in a family that views her as nothing more than a third wheel. She begins to see a woman, dressed in white, begging to be let into the house. She tells the family but it only provides more proof of her diminishing mental state.
But who is this sad lady in white? Is she the ghost of Adelia, the captain’s daughter who lived - and died - in the house? Is she Clara’s alter ego, trying to bring her back to life?
One night the family decides to have a seance, hoping to resurrect Adelia, more for their amusement than to establish any meaningful contact. The evening quickly shifts into a scene of terror, verbal abuse and violence.
One night the family decides to have a seance, hoping to resurrect Adelia, more for their amusement than to establish any meaningful contact. The evening quickly shifts into a scene of terror, verbal abuse and violence.
The fascination of Clara’s Ghost is that the central characters are all part of the Chris Elliot family in real life. Director Bridley Elliot felt that “The film is truth masked as fiction and vice versa. My family plays caricatures of themselves, often revealing shadowed parts of us all, but we’re still playing characters with heightened attributes and different histories. My sister and I were never child stars, and my dad never pushed us into this business, yet part of the story is how show business or any business within a family can warp our relationships.”
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The warped family dynamic is skillfully delivered under the direction of Ms. Elliot, who turns her kin into a den of acid-eating vipers, ever ready to attack the sad shadow that is Clara. Clara’s Ghost feels more like a night out with Edward Albee, a la Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? And the cast makes every on-screen moment vibrate with ever-shifting emotions, including Haley Joel Osmont, who plays the socially inept Joe to perfection.
While viewing Clara’s Ghost, I couldn’t help but wish that an extended version of this story - and the Elliot family - might make its way to Netflix - hint, hint.
While viewing Clara’s Ghost, I couldn’t help but wish that an extended version of this story - and the Elliot family - might make its way to Netflix - hint, hint.
COPYRIGHT 2012/2018. Paulette Reynolds. All CineMata Movie Madness blog articles, reviews, faux interviews, commentary, and the Cine Mata character are under the sole ownership of Paulette Reynolds. All intellectual and creative rights reserved.
