Director: Daniel Barnz
Year Released: 2014
Rating: 2.0
A lawyer (Jennifer Aniston) who's been dealing with chronic pain (and painkiller addiction) following a car accident that left her scarred (and her son dead) struggles to live day-in-and-day-out, even taking her maid (Adrianna Barraza) with her to Tijuana to acquire more pills (without a prescription!). As convincing as Aniston's miserable wreck is - this is easily her most impressive big-screen performance - the script does her a disservice, showcasing her daily suffering and trauma but not taking her personal narrative anywhere: various figures are introduced - the widowed husband (Sam Worthington), the pool guy, the man who hit her car (William H. Macy) - but ultimately dropped when the script doesn't know what to do with them. When Aniston finally 'puts her car seat straight' it's not a believable moment: nothing in her life preceding that moment suggests she's made any kind of personal breakthrough. Furthermore: pastries should never be used as metaphors.
