Cake

2014 "Forgiveness is a bitter pill to swallow."
6.4| 1h42m| R| en| More Info
Released: 31 December 2014 Released
Producted By: Echo Films
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://cakemovie.net/
Synopsis

After having visions of a member of her support group who killed herself, a woman who also suffers with chronic pain seeks out the widower of the suicide.

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Reviews

leethomas-11621 Despite a daring performance from Jennifer Aniston (though ultimately one-note) the movie fails to take off. It's the screenplay. It's the unrelenting darkness and pessimism. Maybe fewer hallucinations and more flashbacks to happier times would have helped.
TheMarco Like many others who have commented on this piece before, I was never a fan of Rachel, and that dislike naturally affected my perception and judgment of -- as well as expectations toward -- Aniston and her work. The portrayal of Claire caused some massive adjustments, which makes me really joyous. Aniston's character in Cake is interesting and convincing in so many ways, and it gives food for thought in so many aspects -- it makes you wonder what alternative path(s) as an actress she might have taken in the absence of Friends. But never mind all that. Here's hoping (and now also very much expecting -- yeah, revealing one's talent can be a real curse) that we'll get a lot more of THAT actress in the future.The development of Claire's character, and thus the film as such, progresses at a good pace. Don't be turned off by claims that the first half is too slow, it absolutely isn't. Portraying the many facets of pain that represent Claire's reality couldn't possibly be done more quickly, it would be entirely inappropriate. In fact, I assume the director had a lot more material in that section which he was forced to cut to appeal to a broader audience (which is a real shame).Similarly, don't be misled by claims that much of the first part of Cake is a '(self-)pity party'. Whoever spouts such nonsense simply lacks any experience of what chronic pain is like. In a sense, such people are to be admired and congratulated because they seem to have lived rather luckily. On the down-side, lack of personal experience comes with lack of true understanding and empathy, which is unfortunate. If anything, it's rather amazing that Claire manages to operate as well as she does. Many, perhaps most, others in her position wouldn't. That she is snarky and short in her interaction with others cannot possibly surprise, constant pain does that to a person.I also liked that the full spectrum of pains was not revealed immediately. We slowly learn that chronic bodily misery is not the only part of Claire's hell. Rather, psychological pains -- and here too, not just one kind -- represent key aspects of the character's daily experience of 'life'. Over the course of the film, more and more agony gets packed on, making you wonder how she's even able to manage anything other than a crawl. In this respect, I actually found the weakness of her suicidal tendencies (as portrayed) quite unconvincing. How could anyone not strongly wish to put an end to this kind of suffering?? (Religion certainly didn't seem to play a preventative role.)One key question that I wish the film would have had time to consider is how relatively lucky Claire is despite her personal hell. Imagine the same fate had affected not Claire -- who's obviously materially well-off -- but rather her housekeeper Silvana. If Claire's life is agony, what would the existence of an immigrant be like?All in all, much applauded and recommended.
Germaine Fryc Aniston did an excellent portrayal of a woman in big, chronic pain. Both emotional and physical, and when the meds were and weren't working. She should win awards for her acting. I hope others who see the film, think of the people in their lives that have chronic pain, and understand even just a bit of what they are going thru. The scenes where she can barely breathe because of the pain are bang on, or when in bed and can hardly move due to the pain. Even the sounds she makes "when in pain" are exactly right. The way she turns without moving her head and the way she stands up are perfect. The weariness of dealing with the pain is so real looking.
tay-sedai I hadn't even heard of this movie before noticing it on Netflix. I was intrigued to see a different kind of performance from Jennifer Anderson, showing that she doesn't always have to be the sweet girl next door type in romantic comedies. I was also intrigued to see Sam Worthington in another movie. I like that he's allowed to keep his Aussie accent in his movies!I found this movie very moving, and the fact that it made me tear up tells me it was very well done. It was quite slow moving, definitely not action packed, but I really enjoyed seeing the character development as it slowly unfolded. Anna Kendrick played a fairly small part but I suppose her character was a catalyst for a lot of change in the main character's life.Although I probably won't feel the need to watch this movie again, I think it's one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. I judge movies on whether I found anything to be stupidly unrealistic, jarring me out of the story. The characters in this movie were also people that I could admire as human beings, even with all their imperfections. And it was great to see a significant role for an older Latino female actor - a role of great substance and importance.This movie to me is an example of one that is the film industry doing things right. Of course, the fact that it's an independent film probably has something to do with that.