Cake (2014)

Claire becomes fascinated by the suicide of a woman in her chronic pain support group while grappling with her own, very raw personal tragedy.

Director:

Daniel Barnz

Writer:

Patrick Tobin (screenplay)

Stars:

Jennifer Aniston, Adriana Barraza, Anna Kendrick

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 5 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

The acerbic, hilarious Claire Bennett 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.

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Plot Keywords:

suicide | chronic pain | loneliness | loss of wife | death of wife | 

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Taglines:

Self-forgiveness is a painful path.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, substance abuse and brief sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Official Website

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

23 January 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cake: Una razón para vivir

Filming Locations:

Eagle Rock, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$916,179, 2 January 2015, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,873,547, 8 February 2015

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinelou Films,Echo Films,We're Not Brothers Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Jennifer Aniston is at the pain specialist's office to get more pain medication, she mentions that her primary care doctor is a Dr. Shipman. A real Dr. Shipman was convicted in 2000 for his part in the murders of 250+ people. Many of them were his patients using overdoses of painkillers. He committed suicide in prison in 2004.

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Goofs

Claire's pain appears to be in her legs - it was said she had pins in her legs - and during the swimming sequence, they show a long scar that runs from above to below her knee. If it were this injury, she would not be able to squat down to slip into the pool and if it were as bad as indicated, she would have a harder time walking. Additionally, it wouldn't require her to lay down in the car during her travels.

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Quotes

Claire Bennett: I hate to break it you, but I don't believe in ghosts.
Nina Collins: That doesn't mean you're not a coward.

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Jason Segel/Amy Sedaris/Alessia Cara (2015)

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Soundtracks

Bludan
Written by Eddie Cano
Performed by Cal Tjader
Courtesy of Concord Music Group, Inc.

User Reviews

A Strong story with a strong performance from Aniston.

Cake is far from sweet. Jennifer Aniston, by odd circumstances, gives, doesn't bake... gives a cake to the son of a widow she's become infatuated with. Awkward, as it's the widow of one of Aniston's support group friends. Claire's (Aniston) pain isn't fully realised, only hinted at. It becomes clearer as the film progresses. Claire is Aniston's most vivid, layered character, deserving awards galore. Troubled by pain, dosed up with drugs to the eyeballs, bearing insufficient regard for the feelings of those around her, particularly Silvana (Barraza), her minder. Cake is full of pain and sorrow. Claire's a character stuck in limbo, a mix of sympathy and apathy. One undignified moment sees her pretending to be the previous owner of the widow's (Worthington) house, to get an idea of why her friend Nina (Kendrick), committed suicide. The odd feelings in this scene are felt throughout. Morbidly crisp.