An Oscar for Aniston? What a layered 'Cake'

TORONTO — If Bill Murray is our cult king, Jennifer Aniston is our pop princess.

For two decades the world has been addicted to her every move, chronicling her hair (shiny!), her clothing (black!), her love life (still engaged!). When Friends moved on to an afterlife of money-on-trees syndication, Aniston became successful at romantic comedic fare, with occasionally good (Horrible Bosses) and occasionally bad (The Bounty Hunter) results. Along the way she peppered in the really interesting stuff, like 2002's The Good Girl and 2006's Friends with Money.

Cake is a new chapter. At its Monday afternoon premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, organizers called Aniston's new movie "career-defining" from the stage – which sounded like hyperbole. Amazingly, it is not.

Before a scene even rolled at the Elgin Theater the Toronto audience was on its feet in a worshipful pre-screening standing ovation (something that never happens). They were there to see Aniston the Celebrity. But it was Aniston the Actress who showed up on screen, playing a caustic woman tortured by chronic pain. No makeup, a scar running the length of her face and a disposition so sour (and yet occasionally so funny), all hints of Rachel Green melted away, like buttercream on a hot day.

"She is next-level incredible in this," says Cake's Anna Kendrick, who plays a member of Aniston's chronic pain support group. "To be honest, while we were making the movie I just wanted to shout from the rooftops how incredible she was on set, and what an extraordinary performance she was giving. She just brought it every day."

Some are even using the O-word. "Aniston proved way beyond cosmetic changes that she is the real thing," wrote Deadline's Pete Hammond, nudging the actress into the Oscar race. "She's heartbreakingly good."

Cake is up for sale at the film festival. If picked up and released quickly, it could enter the Oscar race this year.