'I Care a Lot' - It could have been better

Released in 2021, written and directed by J Blakeson and starring Rosamund Pike, I Care a Lot is a film about Marla Grayson, a master manipulator and scam artist who cheats older people out of their life savings and assets by working the system in her favour. So, not exactly family friendly fun. Rosamund Pike is confident from the get-go in this role, although I couldn’t help but feel that some of her lines were a bit cringe-worthy. It felt a little too much like the film was trying to push the ‘girl boss’ image – the fact that she’s a woman is pretty irrelevant, and certainly not inspiring.

This theme continued; the whole “powerful woman” trope is really emphasized in the first half of the film, and felt contrived, especially since this character is a terrible person. However, I adored the scene where Grayson visits the crooked doctor who recommends victims to her. She eyes up the older people in the waiting room with a devious smile before going to conspire. I remember thinking that this would have been a much more effective opening scene, as the opening dragged a little. I don’t think it was emphasized enough how evil these women were, in which case the “girl boss” trope was almost insulting.

 

However, once the film really gets chugging along, the occasionally cringe dialogue and the fact that the scheme itself seems unrealistic – seriously, how did no one notice? – fade into the background a little. The scene where Pike comes to Jennifer’s house – played by Dianne Wiest – is actually upsetting. I mean this as a positive. I felt deeply uncomfortable watching these people take advantage of an old woman, and it brought more depth to the evilness of the characters. The scene is chilling, and Pike’s manipulation, telling Jennifer ‘I’m here to help’ as she locks her away in a care home against her will, is excellent. She’s really flexing the same muscles we’ve seen in Gone Girl, only this time she has the entire stage to herself.

 

The reveal with Peter Dinklage’s character is done superbly, although sometimes these characters were just so morally grey to the point where they were just morally black. I had trouble enjoying the slightly tongue in cheek, glamorizing tone because these people were so terrible.

There were further cringe lines that also took me out of the experience – ‘You know how many times I’ve been threatened by a man? Thousands.’ I mean, call me crazy but these people are all so equally terrible that I don’t understand why gender has to come into it at all.

 

The film’s final act is the most impressive, and the ending was nicely done. Marla Grayson is served the ultimate punishment; getting everything she’s ever wanted, being right at the beginning of a shiny new life, and then having it taken away from her in a moment of quick justice. However, I cared so little about the character that this moment didn’t really affect me in the way that it should have. I Care a Lot is good. But it could have been better.