Clouds (2000)

Physics professor Robert St. John (Michael Patrick Gaffney), still haunted by the automobile death of a childhood sweetheart to whom he was emotionally distant, is working on the ultimate theory regarding the nature of reality. During a quiet beachside sabbatical, St. John is repeatedly distracted by symbolic dreams and local characters who challenge his composure, including a cynical artist who rants about society, a has-been actor, a religious landlady, and a beautiful and mysterious woman—all of whom help him discover that his "theory" cannot be separated from his life and love.