Synopsis: Claire becomes fascinated by the suicide of a woman in her chronic pain support group while grappling with her own, very raw personal tragedy. (c) Imdb

 

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When the 2015 Oscar nominations were made, Jennifer Aniston’s name has been floated as a major snub. Cake, opening nationwide on January 23rd, will give the audience a chance to decide if there was reality to the hype.

Aniston plays Claire, a woman suffering from chronic pain. At the start of the movie, Claire attends a support group that she quickly gets dismissed from due to her outspoken personality. It quickly becomes apparent that Claire is dealing with a lot of emotional issues that override anything physical. She has a loyal housekeeper Silvana (Adriana Barraza) that keeps it all from falling apart. Claire is a pill popper, a loner that refuses to accept help from others. If there is a template for giving up on life, this character embraces that concept.

The central movie plot is fairly obvious, yet the movie remains purposely ambiguous from start to finish. There is a clear reason as to why Claire is a physical and emotional wreck, her young child died in a accident. The mystery surrounding the death is never fully explained. There is no mention of how it occurred? Why? When it occurred? The movie leaves it up to the viewer to piece the story together. The ambiguity might lead to frustration.

The ambiguity regarding the son’s death isn’t the only conflict Claire deals with, she develops an obsession with a woman from her support group that committed suicide. The odd obsession is never fully understood or explained, yet it’s the driving point of the film. Just when you think that chronic pain issues, prescription drug addiction, loss of a child, and obsessing over a stranger wasn’t enough on Claire’s plate, add a potential love interest into the mix also. To make things more bizarre, Claire attempts to develop a relationship with the husband of the dead girl she’s obsessing over. There is a vast amount of chaos going on at all times. Although all these issues can be linked together, the amount the Claire’s character has to handle will be overwhelming to the viewer also.

The performance by Aniston is the best of her career. She is raw and tantalizing, yet also brash and humorous. Aniston’s physical transformation is eye-opening. She is covered with scars, that presumably have been caused by a car accident, or potentially self-inflicted. Director Daniel Barnz makes sure the audience is exposed to her physical scars as much as she’s scarred mentally. Aniston displays an array of emotions from start to finish. Her emotional range bounces from misery, anger, and sadness to humor and obsession. The range displayed is impressive, especially in comparison to her routine comedy roles that she is known for.

Not to be overlooked by Aniston’s impressive acting display, are the performances of the supporting actors. Adriana Barraza is the rock of this film. To take ownership and control of a housekeeper role that is often unnoticed in films is a credit to performance, but also to the director and writer for including such a strong character. Anna Kendrick makes cameos through the movie, nothing spectacular. Sam Worthington is very solid as Roy Collins, playing a quiet and emotionally damaged husband of Anna Kendrick’s character. A film like this can do wonders for Worthington in removing him from being typecast in action movies.

Cake is Jennifer Aniston’s role is her best and most ambitious to date. Borderline Oscar worthy. There is a case to be made if she deserved a nomination or not, but this role makes it for good debate even in a year that’s stacked for lead actress. On the contrary Cake is a dark, somber, and hopeless movie that never gives you the answers you might seek. It’s purpose is in showcasing the inner hell people have to deal with after losing a loved one, in this case a child, and a wife. People don’t go to the movies to come out depressed. A fair warning would be to tell them that they most likely will.

Amid the dark and bleak world these characters live in, there is a small sense of hope. The solace that these characters are looking for is unattainable. The prescription pills, alcohol abuse, and suicide seems like the only options for Aniston’s character to drown the sorrows, however the script does provide an alternative. The alternative to patching up those deep scars is by connecting with someone who deals with a similar sort of pain. In the movie Claire finds that comfort in attempting to develop a relationship with Roy. There is no set way to deal with life’s tragedies, this movie doesn’t have an answer to it either. It does however show you that moving forward and facing your past is part of a solution.

Cake – 7 out of 10!

Gloomy film with top-notch perfomances