Cake: a Tour de Force Performance

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!

Jennifer Anniston is most well known for her role as Rachel Green on the hit sitcom FRIENDS (1994-2004) and for starring in rom-coms like The Break Up. She isn't known for her dramatic roles, but after watching Cake, I am wholly confident in her acting chops.
Released in 2014 during the Special Presentations category at the Toronto Film Festival, the drama depicts the life of Claire Bennett (Jennifer Anniston), who lives with chronic pain and facial scarring from the car accident that took the life of her young son. She spends her days popping pain killers (she hides a bottle behind a painting in her hall) and her nights restlessly trying to sleep. She has completely given up. Her caregiver Silvana (Adriana Barraza) takes her to her appointments (since the accident, Claire cannot sit up in a car, instead she lies in the passenger seat,) cooks, and cleans for her.
When Nina (Anna Kendrick) commits suicide by jumoping off a highway bridge, Claire is kicked out of their support group for lack of empathy. She begins to imagine Nina talking to her, and dreaming about suicide. Eventually, she tracks down Nina's husband Roy (Sam Worthington) and young son and through that relationship, begins the healing process. She relapses after the man who caused her car accident (I assumed it was a drunk driving accident) shows up at her house and ends up attempting suicide again by lying on a railroad track. The hallucination of Nina urges her to "say it" before it's too late. "I was a good mother," Claire says aloud and leaves.
​Finally embracing that realization allows her to move on. She hangs a picture of herself and her son in the living room, and in the final scene, sits up in the car.
​Jennifer Anniston is mesmerizing in this movie. In Meryl Streep fashion, she transcends herself and actually becomes the character. For her role, Anniston was nominated for a SAG and Academy Award; she won the Movie Perfomance of the Year - Actress by People Magazine, Best Actress at the Capri-Hollywood Film Festival, and the Montecito Award at the Santa Barabara International Film Festival.
According to IMDB, Jennifer Anniston wore no makeup in the film, except for the scene where Roy comes over for lunch. Jen said she found the no make up aspect “refreshing” and it came “with a level of fearlessness.” She also found the experience to be “so dreamy and empowering and liberating.” The only makeup she wore was that to create the facial scars, as well as a bit of shadow under her eyes to amplify her dark circles.
She put on a little weight, as well. “I basically just didn’t work out for two-and-a-half months. I stopped working out and I stopped being as careful about my diet as I normally am. I was still healthy, but I’d allow more," Anniston revealed.
If you want to be blown away by a powerhouse performance, definitely check out this movie, which is available on Netflix.