This is the story of a woman by the name of Claire. Claire is in chronic physical and psychic pain as a result of a car accident that claimed the life of her five-year-old son. To complicate matters further, Claire has become physically and emotionally dependant on opiate pain medication. Claire is an addict. She is played brilliantly by Jennifer Aniston. Be warned: This is not your "Friends" Jennifer Aniston. This is your "The Good Girl" Jennifer Aniston. She is raw, and vulnerable, and angry. She presents with suicidal ideation while grasping onto life as it crumbles around her. She embodies the life of an addict with all of it's frustrations and obstacles.
Holding Claire up throughout the film is the gifted Adriana Barraza as her maid and caregiver. She, by turns, saves Claire's life and continues to stoke the fire of the addiction. Under the word "co-dependant" in the dictionary is a photograph of this character.
Rounding out the cast are Felicty Huffman as a counselor in Claire's pain management group, Anna Kendrick as the ghost of a woman in the pain management group who killed herself, Sam Worthington as the dead woman's widower, Chris Messina as Claire's heartbroken ex-husband, an William H. Macy as the equally grief-stricken man who caused Claire's car accident.
This movie would be a brutal roller-coaster ride for anyone, but for a recovering pill addict it was something more. Rather than trigger my cravings, it made me grateful to not have to live like that anymore. It made me grateful to be able to work as a counselor and to be there for the addict who still suffers. It made me grateful for my life.
If you choose to take this ride, please know that the end is so worth the journey. It is incredibly hopeful. I regret not a minute of the excursion.
