Rosamund Pike Elevates a Middling, Depressing Thriller

Rosamund Pike buoys this off-kilter and heavily stylized thriller, which is guaranteed to leave you depressed. 

Pike plays Marla Grayson, a greedy and ambitious legal guardian who swindles elderly men and women out of their life savings. With the aid of an unethical doctor, Marla convinces the courts that her targets can no longer take care of themselves, and once installed as their legal guardian, she moves them to a nursing home. Marla then facilitates the sale of their possessions to pay for their care and her exorbitant fees.

Marla’s greed is piqued when she discovers a “cherry,” an uncomfortable term for a prime candidate to bilk. The cherry in question is retiree Jennifer Peterson (Dianne Wiest). Jennifer has no family, lives alone, and most importantly, she has significant savings. Though Jennifer has minor memory problems, she’s perfectly capable of getting by on her own. 

Working at warp speed, Marla executes her grift, only things don’t go as planned. Jennifer is connected to dangerous people who want her released. Chief among them is a health-obsessed mobster with heavy tech-bro vibes played by Peter Dinklage.

Though billed as a dark comedy, there is little to laugh at in “I Care a Lot.” It’s an idiosyncratic thriller about despicable people doing horrible things to each other. I found it impossible to connect with any character, which sapped any tension from the story. Why watch two characters go at it, when you don’t care who wins? (If you want mindless entertainment, there are plenty of movies that ask less of their viewers and are more entertaining.)

While I found “I Care a Lot” middling, there are some stand-out elements. 

Pike more than delivers as Marla. She’s crafted a fearless and exacting character who can eviscerate people with a look and few words. In fact, Marla shares more than a little DNA with Pike’s character Amy Dunne in “Gone Girl.” Pike is so good at these types of roles, that I don’t mind the similarities. 

Chris Messina has the most memorable scene in the film. He plays Dean, a high-priced, swaggering lawyer who tries to bribe Marla into releasing Jennifer. The quick-witted pair trade snappy barbs as the scene moves from funny to deadly. Unfortunately, it sets a high bar early on in the film.

Among the less than stellar aspects of the movie is Dinklage’s character. I’ve said this before and will likely say it many more times: Funny antagonists lower the stakes of a story. In this case, Dinklage’s character is supposed to be a killer. Placing him in cartoonish situations drains his menace. 

I also question Marla’s character. Pike is an expert at her craft, but there is a major plot point in the film involving Marla’s girlfriend that doesn’t ring true, and frankly pulled me so far out of the film that I struggled to get back into it for the third act. Without giving away too much, it's difficult to square a character that teeters between Machiavellian and faithful lover.

“I Care a Lot” is a bleak film. The setup is clever, but the movie's theme of elder abuse and uncompromising cynicism makes it difficult to watch. This is especially true when situated in the dead of winter, during a pandemic. The ending is among the saddest conclusions to a story I’ve seen. It is literally a Trojan horse filled with depression. — David (@itsmedavidcross)