Cake

Dir: Daniel Barnz

2015

*****

Daniel Barnz's powerful drama Cake might just have been the most overlooked and underrated film of 2015. Jennifer Aniston's performance is easily one of the best of the year and yet she was nominated only a few times. Its odd how she was nominated for the Golden Globe but not for the Oscar as her performance was miles ahead of most of the actresses' in the final list. Interestingly, most of the awards she was nominated for came from the critics, all who agreed her performance was nothing short of stunning. I guess not enough people saw this brilliant film. I've read reviews that suggest that Jennifer Aniston fans may not like it due to the character she plays, instantly pigeon-holing her in the most unfair and insulting way. There is more to Cake than Jennifer Aniston but see really does bring the film to life. She plays a grief-stricken woman who lost a child and became disabled following a car accident. Her marriage has broken down and she finds herself in a downward spiral of drug dependency and depression but somehow manages to continue. Aniston's performance is raw, abrasive and totally believable, her timing is impeccable and her characters pain is utterly convincing. Cake is a bold, unforgiving and hugely rewarding piece of cinema, one of the best films of 2015 that not enough people talked about.