Stewart's (Georgia's) disease?
Do they ever name it?
shareYes, they name it. It's called Friedreich's Ataxia.
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MovieChat Forums > The Cake Eaters (2009) Discussion > Stewart's (Georgia's) disease?
Yeah Beagle asks her what's wrong with her and she tells him it's Friedreich's Ataxia
shareHere's a fact sheet on Freiederich's ataxia. It attacks the central nervous system and affects motor skills and speech, just like the character in the film:
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/friedreichs_ataxia/detail_friedreic hs_ataxia.htm
I wonder if anyone familiar with the disease can commenty on Kristen Stewart's portrayal? And I wonder if this is the first film to feature a character with the disease?
The end credits say there is at present no cure.
If I'm not mistaken, during the director's commentary Mary Stuart Masterson mentions that she and Kristen Stewart met with a woman who has two daughters with FA. The mother was brought to tears by Kristen's performance. In the DVD extras Jesse L. Martin describes her as "heartbreaking". SPOILER ALERT!!! The scene with Georgia on the back of Beagle's vespa, spreading her arms in the wind with The Wailin' Jenny's "Begin" in the background will reduce any normal person to tears. Even Bruce Dern, one of the best character actors ever says you won't see another actress like her till 2025! That is high praise indeed.The best thing about this film is that it's not played out like a TV disease-of-the-week outing.
shareI watched this film mainly to see Bruce Dern, but I was very impressed by Kristen Stewart's performance, and I'm not surprised that a mother of children with Freiederich's ataxia would be moved to tears by her work in this film.
And you are right that it doesn't have the disease-of-the week cliches. Before we even know she's ill, we see her posing for provocative photos for her mother. It's rare for a character with a terminal illness to have a such a well-developed character (usually they're the object of pity or the source of wisdom), and I applaud Kristen and Mary Stuart Masterson for tackling this.
I have a brother with FA, and her performance was more or less accurate. The slurring of the words was a little strong, especially at that stage in the disease, but otherwise, thats pretty much what its like early on. It only gets worse from there.
shareThanks for your appraisal of the film. I wish you the best with your brother. It must be a difficult situation for all involved, but he's lucky you're there for him.
sharewish a speedy recovery for your brother.
share"wish a speedy recovery for your brother. "
Unfortunately this is the type of condition for which there is no recovery - as Georgia says when she explains it to Beagle.
For what it's worth, I have a friend with FA and it's been a long time since she was as functional as Georgia; not long after I met her, when she was in 7th grade, she has been in a wheelchair. She's now 35 and has lived way longer than her doctors imagined she would. Her mind is still as sharp as ever, and she has the best sense of humour (an example of which is that she refers to her condition as "Freddy":-)), yet she is trapped in a body that won't do what she wants it to. That is the really sad thing, and she does suffer periods of depression. I would do anything to swap places with her, and give her a chance to do all the things she dreamed she would do with her life by the time she was this age.
Good people,
I will comment on Friedreich's Ataxia. My wife has it. I have known her since 1983. Back then, she was 19, and could still walk, but she needed to use a walker, or hold on to something (or, somebody) to get around. Her car had hand controls, and she was enrolled at a local college. Her life expectancy was "not past 30". She will be 47, soon.
In The Cake Eaters, the character of Georgia portrays an ataxic person with a measure of accuracy. However, as has been said, her slurred speech is not quite right. I also find her walking to be too steady, and with no sense of trying to stop herself from falling. I guess the difference in what Georgia was doing, and in what I have witnessed in so many other ataxic people, is like the difference in a baby trying walk for the first time versus a walking person pretending to be a baby that is learning how to walk.
The description that I usually hear, to relate the symptoms of Friedreich's Ataxia to other people, is "they appear to be drunk". Well, I guess that is close, but short, carefull observation will tell you that something is wrong, but it is not drunkeness.
One of the unsaid problems that georgia had, in The Cake Eaters, is Scoliosis. If you look closely, in the beginning of the film, you can see her crooked spine. Scoliosis can accompany FA.
Georgia's injection is never explained, though diabettes can affect a person with FA.
Georgia also had a heart condition. Many FA patients do have heart problems.
That is enough to think on. You can find out more at:
www.ataxia.org
Thanks for reading!
Thanks for sharing!!!
All good wishes for you and your wife.