DVD: 'The Cake Eaters'

It might bring on a burst of angst, but this directorial debut by actress Mary Stuart Masterson ("Fried Green Tomatoes") eventually leads viewers into the mind-set of its dysfunctional, rural Upstate New York characters in a mildly rewarding way. This low-budget independent movie is no doubt in DVD release because it stars Kristen Stewart, who went on to widespread fame after appearing as Bella Swan in "Twilight," the hit teen-vampire love story. In "The Cake Eaters," she plays Georgia, a teenager suffering from Friedreich's ataxia, a nerve disorder that causes her to slur her speech (she does it so well that some of her dialogue is indecipherable) and walk with a limp. She wants to have sex before she dies and sets out to seduce Beagle (Aaron Stanford), an inarticulate, socially withdrawn young man whose father (Bruce Dern) is having an affair with Georgia's grandmother (Elizabeth Ashley). The screenplay is by first-time writer Jayce Bartok, who also appears as Beagle's brother, a lost soul returning home after a three-year odyssey to nowhere. Despite its depressing themes, the film ends on an up note, with family differences being put aside for the sake of love.

THE CAKE EATERS

2007

RATED R

SCREEN MEDIA

$22.98