| I Care A Lot (2020) | |
| Director: | J Blakeson |
| Cast: | Rosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage, Eiza González and Dianne Wiest. |
| Release Date: | 12 September 2020 (Canada) |
| Genre: | Psychological Thriller |
| IMDB: | 6.2/10 |
| Platform: | Netflix |
I Care A Lot (2020) Plot
Marla Grayson, owner of an Old Age Care Home runs a scam of forcing taking in elderly under legal procedure. It is then followed by owning the possessions of those old individuals & selling them. After she takes in Jennifer Peterson, a rich veteran businesswoman, she lands in deep trouble as Peterson has ties to a powerful mafia.
I Care A Lot (2020) Review
Don’t get swayed away by its IMDB rating which frankly speaking should have been more. Rosamund Pike starrer I Care A Lot has a lot to offer. The movie is a bit different than other scam movies you usually watch. The movie focuses mostly on how elderly people with no support are spoilt financially by this cunning woman played by Rosamund Pike. We all have loved her negative deceitful role in Gone Girl (2014) so when this movie came I already knew that we are here for some serious fun.
Although I found a lot of negative reviews in Google that discouraged me at first. Anyway, I watched it on Netflix & it was totally worth it. Since the start of the movie, the story is very engaging & Rosamund was burning in her appearance & attitude. An independent, strong woman who could go to any extent to be rich & successful. Had the topic of this film different, she would have been a totally admirable role model for many. But sadly she is also the devil of the story. How a woman can be so devious & deceitful to old people because throughout the film her character emphasizes the point “I will protect anyone I care about”. Well, that she did very impressibly. It an irony what she actually does in the film to ‘protect the people she cares’. It is an entertaining story that we need to think about.
Image Credit: Vulture
Taking everything from innocent elders and putting them in her care home what you might call “a prison “. Once a person is under her care & facility, he/she won’t have access to personal cell phones, house keys are confiscated with a trustful smile & well no connection to any family members & that also legally. This film could have been presented differently. I think many audiences would have preferred a serious court drama rather than a dazzling show with actions, music & more of a mafia-based film up to some parts. But I liked how the director, J Blakeson presented a thought-provoking story in a commercial, entertaining tone.
Performances
The act that won her “The Best Actress” award in Golden Globe 2021. Perhaps the most important reason to watch this film is the performances these actors put up together. I just said how Rosamund Pike was a show-stealer in this brilliantly executed flick. She was alluring & you can’t help but fall for her charm even though you know what she is doing is extremely criminal towards innocents. What makes this film even more entertaining for a young audience is the introduction of a mafia story. Peter Dinklage plays a Russian mafia named Roman Lunyov who gets into a fierce fight with Marla (Rosamund Pike). It felt very good to see him again in a hot-headed crime lord wearing black dazzling outfits, with a long beard- a man of influence.
Image Credit: Decider
Eiza González plays the character named Fran. She is the business partner & love-interest of Marla. Together they did a lot of ass-kicking in the film as a team. Another worth mentionable character was Dianne Wiest who played the “old lady with influence”, Jennifer Peterson. With her entry in the story came the chapter of Roman Mafia who was her son & wanted to take her out of the prison that we call- Care Home. She was somewhat a tough character carrying an attitude who you don’t want to mess up with. There was a sequence in the film where Marla asked her about her true identity to which she (although tranquilized) challenged Marla that “she messed up with the wrong person”.
Image Credit: BuzzFeed News
We also get to see Chris Messina & Alicia Witt in the film but for a very short period. I wish Chris got more screen time because he had a promising role.
Verdict
Don’t watch it with your family if you have old age people around because they are not going to like this immoral woman & her business. Jokes aside, this film gets a big thumbs up from me because of the memorable performances all the leads presented. The big hit Rosamund Pike- you will get a lot of resemblance to her character Amy Dunne from Gone Girl. It is a very entertaining film. Another big liking goes for its fast pace; it never makes you sit & gaze until a climax comes. It keeps you engaged from start to end.
