Review of Cake (2014) by Sara S — 15 Feb 2015

I hope I get to see this film, I'll review it then. I will have to drive a longer distance because apparently it was pulled from the theatre near me after one.5 weeks??? wtf?? I missed it then due to the snowstorm. SOOO pissed off, why is this film being pulled? It looks really good unlike most of the other junk playing.

UPDATE: Fortunately I was able to drive to the one of two theatres that Cake was still playing in in my area. It was WORTH IT. This film is excellent. Once again, I fail to see why a film that is so good is being virtually passed over by Hollywood and overly criticized by others. I really feel there is some sort of conspiracy going on here that this film is being pulled from theaters everywhere.

Anyway, don't miss this film, drive a distance if you have to to see it, it will be worth it. Cake is trying to do something meaningful which so few films do anymore- I mean lets face it, most films are just a bunch of junk these days.

Cake is more than just cake. it's a full course. It's the slow build up of an emotional and layered story of the life and pain of Claire Simmons. Claire who suffers from severe chronic pain caused by devastating injuries she sustained in a car accident is also we learn as the story unfolds struggling with and crushed with grief for the loss of her son who passed in the same accident. The emotional scars she has suffered are deeper than the physical. She is bitter & angry, she is depressed, she is in severe physical and emotional pain which cause her to contemplate and attempt suicide. She's scared.

Those of use who have chronic pain will immediately identify on some level. I have had chronic pain for over 20 years and mine is not anywhere near as bad was what this poor woman endures daily. Claire is overdosing on medication and purchasing meds in Mexico. She has pushed away her husband, she has been abandoned by her support group, this is so typical of anyone who won't put a positive spin on any negatives and suffering, they end up abandoned. The only one who hasn't abandoned her is her faithful housekeeper.

Claire becomes obsessed with and haunted by the death of a fellow support group member who commit suicide- she comes to visit Claire in surreal moments which could be hallucinations. Claire finally attempts to take her own life with an overdose after confronting the man responsible for the death of her son.

This is a crisis which forces her to finally put a stop to the pain meds and to try to move forward in pt to help to improve her quality of life and to advance her recovery. Without the pain meds, she is barely able to function and once again attempts suicide but this time she stops it and decides to live, her hallucinatory companion says: think about what you wants to now since these thoughts are the only ones you will take with you: Claire finally says:" I was a good mother" and that is enough to make her choose her life such as it is and to find the willpower to try to improve things. The last scene, where she sits up in her car seat and feels less pain is an amazing scene and finale for the film imo. Claire has broken through at least some of the pain and she is fighting the toughest battle of her life.

JA rocks this part: this is JA as you have never seen her before, scarred, slightly overweight, frumpy looking, wearing baggy clothes and so on and she is ANGRY as well as funny. She is everything here. She did an amazing job of portraying someone who lives with this level of pain. I was brought to tears by this performance in the scene where she faces the man responsible for her son's death. This is the type of film and character that haunt you, I keep thinking about it and that is the sign of something deeper. I usually forget most of the movies I see pretty quickly.

My only issue with this film is that it suggests that people shouldn't need or take pain killers if they do their pt properly and that the pain will go away on its own. For most of chronic pain sufferers it is a lifetime thing unfortunately which can wax and wain and many do need some meds on some level- this is very variable for each person and not everyone on pain meds is addicted to them. The most important thing is quality of life.