I Care a Lot (B- or 2.5/4 stars)
Shark-like Marla Grayson (Rosamund Pike) owns a professional guardianship business which she runs with her business-partner/lover, Fran (Eiza Gonzalez) in 'I Care a Lot' (written & directed by J Blakeson). She has obtained many an elderly ward through dubious, yet somehow legal measures, most of them court-appointed by naive Judge Lomax (Isiah Whitlock Jr.). After she schemes to have them removed from their homes & placed in residences run by her co-conspirators, she & Fran seize their assets, selling off their properties, furniture, et al. One of her other 'allies', Dr. Amos (Alicia Witt), has a new client for Marla, a "cherry" {as they grossly call them} -- wealthy, but dotty 70 yr. old retiree, Jennifer Peterson (Dianne Wiest).
Discovering that Jennifer seems to have no living heirs or family, Fran & Marla rub their greasy palms and go in for the kill; having her committed to their favorite nursing home, where her freedom is gone, her cell phone is immediately taken away & she is pumped chock full 'o drugs to keep her submissive. The two fraudsters gut her house, put it on the market in lightning speed, & even unpack her safety deposit box at the bank. The lucrative contents of a pouch found inside said box is so staggering, Marla & Fran start to wonder ... just who IS this Jennifer Peterson? All the while, a local {and murderous} drug lord, Roman Lunyov (Peter Dinklage), is in a vengeful rage because he cannot find his mother. Any guesses as to who she could be?
You know, some horror flicks feature psychotic serial killers. Others showcase fiendish monsters. But the most effective ones prey on our real-life fears. That is the case with 'I Care a Lot'. There may not be a killer on the loose, but there's a shark named Marla in these waters and to say I had knots in my stomach throughout is putting it lightly. Early on, we see a slight smirk on Marla's face during an emotional moment which clues us in on just how diabolical she can be. Even her severe blonde bob suggests something villainous. And once we're privy to the extent of Marla's insidiousness - swindling poor unsuspecting elderlies of their livelihood - we hope to God that she & her equally unsavory business partner will somehow go down in flames.
Rosamund Pike is sensational as Marla. I almost took what Marla did to these elderly people personally -- that's how good she is. Dianne Wiest is perfectly cast as the wronged, yet feisty Jennifer Peterson. Her best moment occurs when she absolutely revels in her secret - taunting Marla with what she doesn't know. With one leveling line delivery {I won't divulge it here}, a cackle, & the way she pierces her eyes at Marla ... I practically giggled with delight. Chris Messina is great as a slimy, no-nonsense attorney who verbally jousts with Marla in her office. And how can you not love Peter Dinklage? He's a bad guy here, but just like his Tyrion Lannister from Game of Thrones - his charisma nearly makes you forget how vile he is.
I'm giving this film a mild pass because I was initially 'thrilled' by this elder care abuse thriller early on and, I cannot fault the performances. Watching con-woman Marla meet her match in Wiest's Jennifer was fun. But the whole thing loses its thrust & becomes needlessly convoluted. A certain kidnapping tested my belief. There are near-death escapes that bugged {for how unbelievable they were}. And two main characters come to a mutual decision near the end which felt inauthentic to what I had been watching all along; an idiotic plot devise. And so, I became aggrieved by this movie.
'I Care a Lot' is billed as a dark comedy, and yet, I mostly found it distressing. That all COULD be forgiven, but if you are going to have a despicable sociopath as the lead character, at least make them someone to enjoy hating. I didn't enjoy her. She had no redeeming character traits. I wanted to kick her in her sh*t-eating grin. Most of these characters are so reprehensible that there was no one to invest emotion into - even when the desired outcome concludes the film. "I care a lot"? I found it difficult to care. Despite the many cinematic strengths I have mentioned, this film is a hard pill to swallow.
Discovering that Jennifer seems to have no living heirs or family, Fran & Marla rub their greasy palms and go in for the kill; having her committed to their favorite nursing home, where her freedom is gone, her cell phone is immediately taken away & she is pumped chock full 'o drugs to keep her submissive. The two fraudsters gut her house, put it on the market in lightning speed, & even unpack her safety deposit box at the bank. The lucrative contents of a pouch found inside said box is so staggering, Marla & Fran start to wonder ... just who IS this Jennifer Peterson? All the while, a local {and murderous} drug lord, Roman Lunyov (Peter Dinklage), is in a vengeful rage because he cannot find his mother. Any guesses as to who she could be?
You know, some horror flicks feature psychotic serial killers. Others showcase fiendish monsters. But the most effective ones prey on our real-life fears. That is the case with 'I Care a Lot'. There may not be a killer on the loose, but there's a shark named Marla in these waters and to say I had knots in my stomach throughout is putting it lightly. Early on, we see a slight smirk on Marla's face during an emotional moment which clues us in on just how diabolical she can be. Even her severe blonde bob suggests something villainous. And once we're privy to the extent of Marla's insidiousness - swindling poor unsuspecting elderlies of their livelihood - we hope to God that she & her equally unsavory business partner will somehow go down in flames.
Rosamund Pike is sensational as Marla. I almost took what Marla did to these elderly people personally -- that's how good she is. Dianne Wiest is perfectly cast as the wronged, yet feisty Jennifer Peterson. Her best moment occurs when she absolutely revels in her secret - taunting Marla with what she doesn't know. With one leveling line delivery {I won't divulge it here}, a cackle, & the way she pierces her eyes at Marla ... I practically giggled with delight. Chris Messina is great as a slimy, no-nonsense attorney who verbally jousts with Marla in her office. And how can you not love Peter Dinklage? He's a bad guy here, but just like his Tyrion Lannister from Game of Thrones - his charisma nearly makes you forget how vile he is.
I'm giving this film a mild pass because I was initially 'thrilled' by this elder care abuse thriller early on and, I cannot fault the performances. Watching con-woman Marla meet her match in Wiest's Jennifer was fun. But the whole thing loses its thrust & becomes needlessly convoluted. A certain kidnapping tested my belief. There are near-death escapes that bugged {for how unbelievable they were}. And two main characters come to a mutual decision near the end which felt inauthentic to what I had been watching all along; an idiotic plot devise. And so, I became aggrieved by this movie.
'I Care a Lot' is billed as a dark comedy, and yet, I mostly found it distressing. That all COULD be forgiven, but if you are going to have a despicable sociopath as the lead character, at least make them someone to enjoy hating. I didn't enjoy her. She had no redeeming character traits. I wanted to kick her in her sh*t-eating grin. Most of these characters are so reprehensible that there was no one to invest emotion into - even when the desired outcome concludes the film. "I care a lot"? I found it difficult to care. Despite the many cinematic strengths I have mentioned, this film is a hard pill to swallow.