Plot
Claire becomes fascinated by the suicide of a woman in her chronic pain support group while grappling with her own, very raw personal tragedy.
Release Year: 2014
Rating: 6.6/10 (2,830 voted)
Critic's Score: 46/100
Director: Daniel Barnz
Stars: Jennifer Aniston, Adriana Barraza, Anna Kendrick
Storyline
The acerbic, hilarious CLAIRE SIMMONS becomes fascinated by the suicide of a woman in her chronic pain support group. As she uncovers the details of Nina's suicide and develops a poignant relationship with Nina's husband, she also grapples with her own, very raw personal tragedy.
Cast: Jennifer Aniston -
Claire Bennett
Adriana Barraza -
Silvana
Anna Kendrick -
Nina Collins
Sam Worthington -
Roy Collins
Mamie Gummer -
Bonnie
Felicity Huffman -
Annette
William H. Macy -
Leonard
Chris Messina -
Jason Bennett
Lucy Punch -
Nurse Gayle
Britt Robertson -
Becky
Paula Cale -
Carol
Ashley Crow -
Stephanie
Manuel Garcia-Rulfo -
Arturo
Camille Guaty -
Tina
Allen Maldonado -
Buddy
Trivia: Jennifer Aniston received her first ever Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for a feature film for her performance as Claire Simmons. She was nominated in the category of Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role, having previously won a Screen Actors Guild Award for her work as part of the Friends (1994) ensemble cast. See more »
Goofs:
When Nina visits Claire in the hospital, after lighting the candles on the cake, and holding it in front of her to blow out the candles, one of the candles is out, when a new shot from a new angle appears, the candles is re-lit. See more »
User Review
Author:
Rating: 6/10
Every once in a while, and admittedly not often enough, an actor or
actress opens your eyes to talents you weren't aware they inhabited.
Over the past few decades, I think of performers like Charlize Theron
in "Monster" or Halle Berry in "Monster's Ball" as prime examples.
Joining the elite list is the beautiful and incredible Jennifer Aniston
in Daniel Barnz's "Cake" co-starring Academy Award nominee Adriana
Barraza. In a turn that stands as the single best performance by an
actress this year, Aniston offers her heart and soul in the role of her
career.
"Cake" tells the story of Claire Simmons, a woman addicted to pain
killers who begins to hallucinate and see visions of Nina (Anna
Kendrick), a woman who commits suicide from her chronic pain support
group. Not so long after, she starts a friendship with Nina's husband
Roy (Sam Worthington), all while worrying the heart of her angelic
housekeeper Silvana (Barraza).
Screenwriter Patrick Tobin, a relatively unknown scribe whose only
credit is "No Easy Way" nearly twenty years ago, gives a strong focus
on the creation of Claire. In partnership with Aniston's talent, Claire
comes off like the female equivalent to Melvin from "As Good as it
Gets." Snippy, darkly funny at times, but mostly emotionally driven by
an aching pain. Tobin's work on character creation is top-notch
however, with his ability to move the story along fluidly, there's
still some work to be done. When we dig into the people that surround
Claire, it's only Silvana that doesn't feel like a clich
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