Streaming Review: "I Care A Lot" (Netflix)
Wednesday, February 17, 2021 at 10:11PM by Christopher James
Rosamund Pike cares a lot, not about her elderly wards, but about winning.Music and The Mauritanian weren’t the only movies that showed up at the Golden Globes without people having seen the film. Rosamund Pike nabbed a nomination in the Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy for the Netflix film I Care A Lot, which some critics saw during the Toronto International Film Festival. The Globes have long loved Rosamund Pike, even nominating her for A Private War in 2018. Is this latest nomination a case of the Globes being goofy, or is Pike awards worthy in this new black comedy?
The answer is yes and no on both fronts. Pike uses “Amazing Amy” ability to establish a horrifying, gleefully bloodthirsty businesswoman who fleeces the elderly. Unfortunately, she does so in a vehicle that points that talent in the exact wrong directions...
The kernel of an amazing, dark idea gets burnt by a script stuffed with too many plot elements and an inconsistent tone. There’s something to writer/director J Blakeson’s vision that feels like Steven Soderbergh’s sensibilities mixed with the Coen Brothers wild narrative swings.
Unfortunately, I Care a Lot is a swing and a miss.
Marla Grayson (Rosamund Pike) extracts great pleasure from her schemes, even if it ruins the lives of many elderly patients.
In a world of lions and lambs, Marla Grayson (Rosamund Pike) informs us right off the bat that she is a lioness, and she never loses. Marla’s get rich quick scheme is simple and ruthless. She works with doctors to find elderly patients with early signs of dementia or any other debilitating condition. From there, she works with the court to become their state appointed guardian. This allows her and her girlfriend, Fran (Eiza Gonzalez), to put that elderly person in a retirement home (that she has also cut a deal with) while she sells off all their assets and pockets the change for herself.
One of her doctor contacts informs Marla she has a “cherry,” an wealthy elderly woman with no family and no attachments. Marla gleefully takes hup the opportunity to steal this woman’s independence and drain her of her money. She shows up at the house of said “cherry,” Jennifer Peterson (Dianne Wiest) with police in tow, presenting court papers stating that she’s now in the care of Marla. Without a moment’s hesitation, Jennifer is taken to a retirement home and stripped of her cell phone. Marla didn’t count on one thing (okay many things). Jennifer is still very with it and is prepared to fight back.
Quick! Who would win in a menacing stare-off - Rosamund Pike or Two Time Oscar Winner Dianne Wiest?
Filmmakers can get away with a lot in black comedies. This is why concrete tone and perspective are so critical. In the first act, the drama is focused squarely on a villainous Goliath, in the form of Marla, underestimating their David, the old yet steely Jennifer. While Marla is good at being bad, there’s the sense that she may have met her match in Jennifer. Pike and Wiest have a crackling adversarial chemistry. Wiest gives a perfect line reading as she chuckles, “Ooooo, you’re in trouble now” while Marla viciously vapes while describing her plan. Just like in Let Them All Talk, Wiest makes every moment her own, giving unexpected line readings and making confident acting choices that always take one by surprise. She never goes for the cliched choices or makes us laugh at Jennifer. Instead, she displays a confidence behind her sunny smile. She believes she’ll get out, so we as an audience root for her success.
Here’s where things go awry, not just for Marla, but for the movie. It turns out Jennifer Peterson is more than meets the eye. Menacing Russian gangsters, led by Roman Lunyov (Peter Dinklage), are determined to break Jennifer out at all costs. Kidnapping, gunfight standoffs and other acts of violence turn I Care a Lot into a thriller with people on both sides you don’t care that much about. What started as a Ladykillers-esque comic showdown between Pike and Wiest morphs into something uglier and more generic.
Peter Dinklage and his motley band of Russian gangsters cause Rosamund Pike (and the audience) a lot of grief in "I Care A Lot."
When the script stacks the deck with the Russian mob, suddenly it pits Marla as David going up against an even bigger, more ruthless crime syndicate Goliath. Both Pike and Blakeson have done such a good job making Marla deliciously hateable that it’s hard to make the necessary shift onto her side for the second half of the film. The way she profits off her elder abuse and strips them of their agency is diabolical and horrendous. Especially in the wake of the conservator discussion around Framing Brittney Spears, the idea of having a “third party” dictate your affairs is frightening beyond belief. It passes the point where she can be redeemed or where an audience can get onto her side. So why try? Why not lean into Pike’s gifts as a charismatic crocodile and let her vamp it up to the rafters until she meets her demise.
There’s a lot of promise and talent involved in I Care A Lot. There are tons of great people in small supporting roles too, such as Chris Messina as an attorney who is nearly as slimy as Marla is. It’s unfortunate that a critical wrong turn in the narrative derails this potentially ripe, yet tricky premise. The laughs may be present in the set-up, but the thrills are not there in the end. With false endings galore, you might find yourself not really caring a lot about how everything turns out. C-
I Care A Lot premieres on Netflix this Friday, February 19th.
Reader Comments (12)
I’m excited, it looks black, nasty and hilarious and Pike looks to be in A+++++ form and any movie that uses Dianne Wiest is already off to a win.
Something for a Friday night with a bottle of wine, a friend and some dumplings. often in our attempts to seek more from film, we forget half the reason they were created was for entertainment purposes and there’s something great about a new movie that doesn’t require me to be overly invested and is just interesting, fun and well-acted so on that front, I’m looking forward to it!
I think the ineptly titled thriller I Care a Lot is a terrific entertainment. I was caught up in the twists and turns. No plot line seemed arbitrary or forced. This ensemble of actors labored beautifully to make this story credible when it probably shouldn’t be. Dianne Wiest is certainly the MVP here. Is there anything this woman can’t act? Skip the review and its spoilers. Curl up on the couch for good storytelling.
Everyone seems surprised she was nominated for this and A Private War but she is very good in both and in this years earlier Radioactive,infact she's been giving good performances since 2009.
Rosamund has had many great roles since 2004. Her supporting role in The Libertine is amazing.
Who among you is going to do Music review? I can't believe a movie can top Hillbilly Elegy to be the worst movie of the year, and then I saw Music.
Pike deserves any accolade she gets since the Oscar refused to give her deserved win.
I enjoyed this overall, though it's not a must see. The movie could've used more Wiest, but that's always true. Pike digs in and despite the fact that the stakes can only be so high when you hope all the characters suffer, it's a fun ride. Nothing I need to see win major awards, though.
I really liked it, but the ending nearly ruined it
It was like the second half of the movie was made by someone who hadn’t seen the first half.
This moive got me on my feelings, I was so irritated with it that it took me a pause to be able to finish it. I agree with DMF above. The second half and the first half don't go together.
This film is not a comedy. It is a tragedy.
Once you see the film through that lens, both halves works well together.
Pike deserves any accolade she gets since the Oscar refused to give her deserved win.
نصب درب ضد سرقت
درب لابی
طراحی سایت پلن سایت