Kyle says: “There are
way too many movies out there with little or no redeeming merit.
Sitting down to watch a movie increasingly has an air of desperation.
Most titles announce their substance, if any, in the first few minutes,
making it pointless to actually sit through the movie. But every once
in a while, a complete and total surprise comes from out of nowhere, an
affirmation of what film can accomplish when there is something on the
artists’ minds except slavish imitation of the prior flavor of the
week. Never having been a fan of Jennifer Anniston, I set about the
probable waste of time in watching CAKE — a movie about suicide,
addiction, pain, and grief.
“Anniston’s performance as near-fatal accident survivor Claire is a
miracle of attention to detail — the physical discomfort of being in
constant pain from the neck down, the temporary relief in pain
medication compounded by downing more and more pills, the weariness in
her eyes as she scrutinizes life around her, the impatience with which
she confronts people she perceives as wasting her time, the hostility
she exhibits about her friend’s suicide seeming the easy way out, the
troubled but needy relationship with her husband from whom she is
separated, the excruciating time she takes to stretch out in her
automobile seat, and the pride with which she presents a birthday cake
to the husband and son of her dead friend at the end.
“CAKE also contemplates movingly the raced-based relationship between
wealthy needy white women and indispensable Latina home companions in
Southern California, the performance of Adriana Barraza as Silvana a
key ingredient in the film’s success. After a particularly astringent
confrontation between Anniston and Barraza, it occurred to me that CAKE
offers an absorbing variation on THE MIRACLE WORKER (1962), with
Jennifer Anniston in the Patty Duke/Helen Keller role, and Adriana
Barraza in the Anne Bancroft/Annie Sullivan role.
“The two male supporting performances by Sam Worthington and Chris
Messina are both spot on. The only misstep I can find (other than a
complete waste of William H. Macy in a virtual cameo) is the ghost of
Claire’s suicide friend Nina (Anna Kendrick) as a constant irritating
presence to offer advice and commentary to Claire. It is a small price
to pay for the richness of Jennifer Anniston’s superlative performance.
5 cats
“Monday, August 31, 2015, on Netflix, New York” |
