Jennifer Aniston’s Generating Oscar Buzz for ‘Cake’

Cake Movie Trailer and Poster
Poster for ‘Cake’

Could Jennifer Aniston snag a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her role in Cake? Aniston’s performance is generating a lot of attention, and the just-released trailer makes good use of quotes from critics to make a case for Aniston’s place in the Oscar race. Directed by Daniel Barnz, Cake also features Sam Worthington, Anna Kendrick, Felicity Huffman, William H. Macy, and Adriana Barraza.

Cake opens in limited release on January 23, 2015.

The Plot:

Claire Simmons (Aniston) is in pain. Her physical pain is evident in the scars that line her body and the way she carries herself, wincing with each tentative step. She’s no good at hiding her emotional pain either. Blunt to the point of searing insult, Claire’s anger seethes out of her with nearly every interaction. She has driven away her husband, her friends – even her chronic-pain support group has kicked her out.

The only one left in Claire’s otherwise solitary existence is her housekeeper-cum-caretaker, Silvana (Barraza), who barely tolerates her boss’ need for liquor and prescription pills. But the suicide of Nina (Kendrick), one of Claire’s fellow chronic-pain group members, prompts another fixation. In pursuing questions about the death of a woman she barely knew, Claire explores the boundaries between life and death, abandonment and heartbreak, danger and salvation. As she inserts herself into the lives of Nina’s husband (Worthington) and the son Nina left behind, Claire just might find salvation.