The Cake Eaters

The Cake Eaters is a lovely, small, ensemble film centered around the relationship between a young man and a teenage girl dying of Friedriech’s Ataxia disease, a degenerative nerve disorder. There is no melodrama in this film. It is spare, honest, natural, and matter of fact. Kristen Stewart plays the afflicted Georgia who is totally aware that her time is short. All she wants to do is be as normal as possible, for as long as possible, while earning a little freedom from her over-protective mother. Kristen Stewart is quite excellent in this part.

The rest of the ensemble cast is also excellent. Bruce Dern plays the father who recently lost his wife to Cancer. Aaron Stanford plays Beagle, Bruce Dern’s son, who has the sensitivity and gentleness to befriend the younger Georgia. Jayce Bartok, also the writer, plays Beagle’s older brother, who skipped town to pursue his Rock Star dreams, missing all the responsibilities of caring for his dying mother, which fell to Beagle. And Elizabeth Ashley, in a stand out performance, portrays Georgia’s grandmother, who for years has had an affair with Beagle’s father.

Although the plot sounds very convoluted, it was filmed in a simple, straight-forward way, leaving a lot of the drama unsaid. In order to understand the characters you have to watch as well as listen. This film is the first directorial effort of actress Mary Stuart Masterson and I think she did a fine job. I look forward to her future efforts. Peter Masterson, Mary Stuart’s brother, is responsible for a very good looking film. A high quality product from a high quality team, full of high quality performances.

Rating: Second Run Don’t let it get lost among the big pictures. Worth seeking out.