Cake

I just finished watching Cake and I was so filled with emotion that I had to write about it right away. And if there's a reason to dig this old blog out of the past, it might as well be this movie.

Claire, played by Jennifer Aniston, is dealing with chronic pain due to a car accident. She copes with her pain, both physical and emotional, by using prescription pain pills. She goes to support groups, doctors visits, and physical therapy, but has no improvement. Her life is completely numb, filled with 'going-through-the-motion' type activities, and no purpose.

During a group session they discuss the recent suicide of a fellow group member, a young mother named Nina. While Claire initially seems unmoved by Nina's story, she starts seeing Nina in her dreams and in hallucination-type situations. She becomes obsessed with her story and with learning about her life and [mostly] her death.

The bizarre and erratic behavior resulting from this need to figure out Nina leads Claire into situations that force her to address her life: past and present. Claire certainly does not have her act together, but stumbles across unique situations that force meaning into her otherwise void life.

I found this movie to be alluring, unique, and emotional. It was very real and also very complex, and covered a lot of difficult topics. Claire's dismissive and flighty behavior both puzzled and enticed me. It truly drew me into the movie, where I stayed hooked throughout her magnificent character development. I thought Jennifer Aniston did an astounding job and gave more depth to this character than possibly any other she has ever played.

If you want to watch a movie that will do more than just entertain you, but also make you feel something, you need to see this movie.

A / A+