FILM REVIEW: 'Cake'

Every so often Jennifer Aniston proves she can be taken seriously. In her new film, "Cake," she gives a fearless performance as a woman whose life is in ruins.

We're introduced to Claire Bennett (Aniston) while in attendance at a support group's meeting for chronic pain sufferers. They're missing one member named Nina (Anna Kendrick) who has recently committed suicide. When each of them is asked to comment on the tragic event, Claire offers up a brutally honest assessment about Nina's method and selfishness. Via a voicemail, Claire is asked not to come back.

Claire is visibly in constant pain. The scars are her proof. Her facial contortions and impaired physicality indicate the depth. Claire's drugs of choice are oxycontin and percoset washed down with alcohol. Her ritualistic rattling of the pill bottles before consumption seems akin to swirling a fine wine. When she begins having hallucinations of Nina coupled with making a drug run to Tijuana, the hopelessness intensifies.

Claire's housekeeper, Silvana (the wonderful Adriana Barraza) is the rock in her life. Her devotion to a sometimes verbally abusive Claire is unflappable. Silvana realizes that the depth of her pain goes far beyond the physical and does whatever she can to ease it. When Claire hooks up with Nina's widower (Sam Worthington), it's Silvana who recognizes there's a glint of hope for her sad and desperate employer.

Director Daniel Barnz ("Phoebe in Wonderland") employs creative lighting, lingering facial shots and scarce scoring to accentuate how Claire "copes." Although the script tends to meander, it somewhat gets on track toward the end of the film. Barnz had the savvy to put Aniston in practically every shot ... a brilliant move given her extraordinary performance.

Not since "The Good Girl" (2002) has Jennifer Aniston been so engaging. Her portrayal of the broken Claire is so raw and nuanced, she's almost unrecognizable (sans make-up aside from fake scarring). Aniston wisely never stoops to sentimentality in becoming a woman who could have provoked a sea of it.

"Cake" deals with an all too common malaise that is destroying millions of lives. And although the film does not create a pulpit for the problem, it does exemplify the depths to which a human being can sink.