Surrounded by Ghosts
IMDb Plot: Claire (Jennifer Aniston) becomes fascinated by the suicide of a woman (Anna Kendrick) in her chronic pain support group while grappling with her own, very raw personal tragedy.
Kudos to Aniston for baring all (sorta) in Daniel Barnz's Cake. Although not alone (Adriana Barraza is great, as is Felicity Huffman) the former Friend carries Cake, ditching all pretenses along the way. Her battle with pain is a losing effort with surprisingly little bravery, but plenty of authenticity... "Would we be driving to fucking Mexico if I took my medicine today?" Barnz injects moments of humor without disrupting the vibe, such as Claire's reaction to a Billy Joel song, "Enough with the fucking honesty," and Aniston's Oscar-worthy performances keeps heavy issues (addiction, death and suicide) from sinking the ship.
Grade: B
