And that's what this movie is about: what your life is like when you live in constant, never-ending, chronic pain.
As a sufferer of chronic pain myself for the last 9 years (from a slipped disc that presses on the main nerve plus arthritis) I unfortunately know all about this kind of life. And the worst part is, it's not much of a life at all. I have no idea if Anniston has chronic pain in real life, but if she doesn't, she certainly did her homework before playing the role. And she gets chronic pain exactly right - living with it isn't a matter of moaning and groaning every minute of your life, even when that's what you feel. You can't do that - because if you do, everyone you love and value in your life will burn out on you, very quickly, and will disappear. So you spend much of your life hiding your pain as best you can. And, the only way you know that you are hiding it well is when friends and family forget, and try to get you to do something with them you can no longer do, because of your chronic pain. And then you see the inevitable disappointment, and the resentment, and you know they have just dropped you from another little part of their lives - and you wonder if and when they might drop you altogether.
And as Claire, Anniston manages to show her day to day life in a subtle, under-stated way, but one I instantly related to. She manages to show what it's like, living in your own bubble of pain, surrounded by the able bodied who feel nothing like you do, and get to feel how you used to feel, before your curse of chronic pain. She shows the frustration, the anxiety over medication, and the illicit activity she must do to get her medicine (in Mexico), and what it feels like to watch life go on around you, and without you to a great extent. I think Jennifer Anniston did a great job playing this role - and I'll never underestimate her as an actress again.
And as Claire, Anniston manages to show her day to day life in a subtle, under-stated way, but one I instantly related to. She manages to show what it's like, living in your own bubble of pain, surrounded by the able bodied who feel nothing like you do, and get to feel how you used to feel, before your curse of chronic pain. She shows the frustration, the anxiety over medication, and the illicit activity she must do to get her medicine (in Mexico), and what it feels like to watch life go on around you, and without you to a great extent. I think Jennifer Anniston did a great job playing this role - and I'll never underestimate her as an actress again.