A Cooler Climate on AllMovie

Susan Seidelman directs this critically acclaimed made-for-cable TV movie based on the novel by Zena Collier. A nasty divorce leaves one-time housewife Iris Prue (Sally Field) in unstable financial circumstances, forcing her to accept a demeaning job as live-in housekeeper to the family of imperious, snooty Paula Tanner (Judy Davis). Slowly rebuilding her life in the small Maine town where she's employed by the Tanners, Iris makes new friends and even strikes up a romance with an artist named Jack (Winston Rekert). When Paula is left by her own husband and undergoes a psychological crisis as a result, Iris is surprised to find herself befriending the employer with whom she once clashed, and an unexpected friendship blooms. Jerry Wasserman, Jessalyn Gilsig, and Carly Pope co-star. Both Field and Davis were nominated for Screen Actors Guild and Emmy awards for their work in A Cooler Climate.