The role of Claire Bennett in Daniel Barnz’s “Cake” is one
performers love to see come their way.
The character is sympathetic, is required to deliver biting
crowd-pleasing bits of dialogue, has at least three big dramatic scenes that
require moments of grandstand acting and ultimately takes the first steps
towards recovery and redemption. In
other words, this is the sort of part that gets actresses noticed and earns
them awards.
Only Aniston herself can say if that was her intention for
agreeing to be in this sometimes-effective movie. If it was, let’s hope she’s a lover of irony,
as she was denied an Academy Award nomination, and can sit back and admire the
fine piece of work she does in the service of a flawed script. To be sure,
material of this nature, revolving around a domestic tragedy of the most
horrific sort, is tricky stuff as it requires a firm hand to avoid the film
from becoming too maudlin, insincere or melodramatic. For the most part, Barnz
is able to do just that, yet his fine work, as well as that of a game cast,
can’t overcome the glaring flaws in Patrick Tobin’s script.
Barnz’s wastes little time showing just how bitter Claire is
as in the first scene we see her thrown out of her chronic pain support group
for being insensitive about the suicide of one of the other members, Nina
Collins (Anna Kendrick). She could care
less as she’s a master manipulator, throwing money at people to get her way,
making no bones about being addicted to pain meds and heaping grief on her
devoted caregiver Silvana (Adriana Barraza) every chance she gets. It’s obvious this is all an effort on
Claire’s part to hide her pain. Though initially we don’t know what happened to
her, the scars that she defiantly refuses to cover up speak to something
traumatic.
It’s to Aniston’s credit that we’re initially drawn and
remain fascinated by Claire. Though her
show-stopping moments of great emotion are played to the hilt, the actress
never lets us forget the shattered woman that’s beneath the bluff and
bluster. The scenes in which she quietly
reflects on her experiences with Nina’s husband Roy (Sam Worthington) or when
she’s alone are the most memorable in the film.
We never catch Aniston trying too hard here; she simply lets the
emotions of the given scene wash over her and conveys them in a genuine manor
that builds towards an emotionally satisfying and genuinely moving climax. Barraza is on the same wavelength and there’s
a bit of magic happening whenever they share the screen.
Unfortunately, Tobin’s script is littered with far too many
moments that are as false as Aniston’s scenes are true. Claire begins to dream of or is haunted by
Nina and these instances feel as though they belong in another movie. As assured as Barnz is with the rest of the
film, he stumbles badly in executing these scenes as they sometimes are played
for bitter laughs that fall flat or come off as overwrought moments that clash
with the movie’s more sincere moments.
There’s a lack of cohesiveness here that derails the film whenever Nina
pops up.
Equally troubling is Tobin’s reliance on needless drama or
outlandish circumstances to move the story along. The appearance out of the blue of a character
from Claire’s past played by William H. Macy doesn’t hold water as it’s
placement is far too convenient while the introduction of a young runaway
(Britt Robertson) during the film’s final act is a desperate move on the
writer’s part towards providing closure.
To Tobin’s credit, he doesn’t insult us where the
relationship between Roy and Claire are concerned. What results between them
has a logic behind it that’s refreshing and welcome. However, in the end, “Cake” ends up being a
frustrating experience as Aniston and Barraza, despite their great work, are
hobbled by a story that’s simply not worthy of their efforts.
This article appears in Jan 22-28, 2015.
