Director praises Aniston for not wearing makeup, “letting herself go,” being brave to play such a role

Nov 13, 2014 16:41 GMT  ·  By
Jennifer Aniston plays a car-crash survivor in indie pic “Cake”
7 photos
   Jennifer Aniston plays a car-crash survivor in indie pic “Cake”

Jennifer Aniston is a tabloid fixture, but this time, we’re not going to talk about her wedding or baby plans, her fiancé Justin Theroux and the drama between them, or how much it still stings her to think of the way her marriage to Brad Pitt ended. This time, we’ll talk about Jennifer Aniston, the Oscar-worthy actress.

For some time now, Aniston has been getting a lot of positive buzz after starring in the indie “Cake,” in which she plays a car-crash survivor left in chronic pain and a visible reminder of her experience, in the shape of many facial scars.

The film premiered at TIFF to decent reviews (but no offers from distributors), and will open next month in limited US theaters, to qualify for the Oscars run. So what’s all this fuss about?

First “Cake” video premieres

Until now, no one had any idea what “Cake” was about because there was no promo material for it, except for the synopsis and the handful of paparazzi shots that leaked online when it was still shooting.

Over the weekend, the first poster premiered (see the gallery below), hinting that, indeed, the campaign would focus heavily on how Aniston was “brave” to ditch the makeup and look her age for the camera, for once.

Today brings the release of the first clip, which is sadly not a trailer. Instead, it’s a video of Aniston in character, by the pool, talking to another woman about how she’s in pain all the time and really wants it to stop.

Because it’s not a trailer and doesn’t include more scenes, it’s hard to get any idea of Aniston’s performance in the film, so we’ll have to wait some more for that. But this video too makes it clear that the camera will be spending a lot of time on Aniston’s face.

Director says Aniston was “brave” to go without makeup

The world is accustomed to seeing Aniston always looking her best, whether she’s coming out of a spa treatment, is out running errands or is on a red carpet. Indeed, for her to go sans fards is a huge step, but Daniel Barnz, who directed her in “Cake,” goes beyond that.

"With this performance, Jen just let herself go raw in every way, emotionally and physically. The first time we met, we talked about how this is a woman who actively doesn't take care of herself, who doesn't put on a stitch of makeup, who just completely lets herself go. Because if the actress tried anything – a dab of lipstick, a tiny bit of mascara – it wouldn't be true to the character and the audience would cry foul,” he says for People Magazine.

He goes on to praise her for never wavering, for being “brave” to expose herself like this physically and emotionally. Barnz, regardless of Aniston’s performance, is making her into this heroine of sorts only because she did what the role asked of her to do, namely not wear makeup and have prosthetic scars put on the face each morning, before shooting.

How’s that brave?

How is that brave? This is the question on many lips since Aniston started actively campaigning for her Oscar a couple of weeks ago. Why is she getting this much media attention for doing her job, especially when countless other actresses had done it before her, perhaps to better results?

It’s not like she reinvented the wheel, it’s not like she completely transformed herself, it’s not like she learned to do something only a few people in the world are able to do. Jennifer Aniston just went without makeup. That can’t be stressed enough.

Saying that this is “brave” or, like she did, that it’s “Method acting” is insulting to all other actresses with a track record of being brave and Method, if you ask us.

That said, here’s the video. Watch it and drop us a line in the comments with your thoughts on Aniston’s bravery.

Jennifer Aniston in “Cake” (7 Images)

Jennifer Aniston plays a car-crash survivor in indie pic “Cake”
First “Cake” video premieres onlineJennifer Aniston will campaign for a Best Actress Oscar with “Cake”
+4more