I want to start this review off by stating that I’m officially scared of Rosamund Pike. If she’s not faking her death to get her husband executed under the death penalty, she’s wheeling the elderly into old folks’ homes to drug them up beyond all comprehension and steal all their money. She’s a fantastic actress but there, I’ve laid it all out now, I fear for my life when I hear that woman’s name.
I Care A Lot is the story of Marla Grayson (Rosamund Pike), a ‘professional guardian’ who the state will grant the power to take legal guardianship over people they deem to be mentally or physically vulnerable, or incapable of taking care of themselves. Over her years of professional guardianship Grayson has amassed enough wealth to live comfortably, afford herself luxuries, and grow her business to be able to handle more clients. Once she has been granted legal guardianship, she carts people off to a care home or mental hospital where she has business partnerships with the owners. Once there she sells off everything that person owns to pay for the care home and any medical bills, then the rest lines her own pockets.
When Grayson is informed of a wealthy elderly lady, Jennifer Peterson (Dianne Wiest) who has no living relatives, she twists the system to her favour to be granted legal guardianship of her. An easy job that will net her hundreds of thousands of dollars, maybe even millions if she plays her cards right. However, when lawyers in fancy suits start showing up asking questions, offering bribes for Grayson to terminate her guardianship of this woman, and make threats against her life, Grayson begins to suspect that this little old lady is more than she’s letting herself on to be. This lands Grayson and her girlfriend Fran (Eiza Gonzalez) in a fight for their lives against members of the Russian mafia as they try to construct a plan to get rich and get out alive.
I Care A Lot is the story of Marla Grayson (Rosamund Pike), a ‘professional guardian’ who the state will grant the power to take legal guardianship over people they deem to be mentally or physically vulnerable, or incapable of taking care of themselves. Over her years of professional guardianship Grayson has amassed enough wealth to live comfortably, afford herself luxuries, and grow her business to be able to handle more clients. Once she has been granted legal guardianship, she carts people off to a care home or mental hospital where she has business partnerships with the owners. Once there she sells off everything that person owns to pay for the care home and any medical bills, then the rest lines her own pockets.
When Grayson is informed of a wealthy elderly lady, Jennifer Peterson (Dianne Wiest) who has no living relatives, she twists the system to her favour to be granted legal guardianship of her. An easy job that will net her hundreds of thousands of dollars, maybe even millions if she plays her cards right. However, when lawyers in fancy suits start showing up asking questions, offering bribes for Grayson to terminate her guardianship of this woman, and make threats against her life, Grayson begins to suspect that this little old lady is more than she’s letting herself on to be. This lands Grayson and her girlfriend Fran (Eiza Gonzalez) in a fight for their lives against members of the Russian mafia as they try to construct a plan to get rich and get out alive.
There was much more action in I Care A Lot than I expected. I had seen the trailer and whilst there were definitely glimpses of action it seemed like the film was going to be a much more Gone Girl style affair where it was a battle of brains, puzzle pieces to put together. This wasn’t a bad thing, but it did come as a surprise at first when the bullets started flying less than halfway into the film, and the remaining runtime was almost entirely dedicated to chase sequences and explosions.
Marla is a great character, and you go on a very interesting journey with her over the course of the film. She’s absolutely the villain of the story, but once things start to hit the fan for her you actually start rooting for her. Then once the very impressive ending comes around and she gets one up on Peter Dinklage’s character you’re really happy that she’s able to continue playing the legal system and scam old people out of their money. Pike gives the character so much personality and charisma that it’s impossible not to like her, despite the fact that you know she’s stab you in the back the moment you turned away from her.
I’m going to address the very end of the film so if you want to be spoiler free then skip ahead to the final paragraph. Grayson’s death at the end of the film is the perfect way to bring the film full circle and tie up all the seemingly throwaway plot details the film brings up. She’s so confident about the fact that she will never die by a man’s hand because they’re too dumb and the threats are too empty then makes it so much more deserved when she’s shot in the street by the son of one of her former clients. Especially as she had finally achieved the financial and social status she had always dreamed of having. I know I said I loved Marla and was happy to see her succeed, but watching her die after her success was the cherry on top of the cake for me as it allowed me to really enjoy the time I spent with her, whilst also feeling that she got the repercussions she deserved all along.
I Care A Lot is a very fun thriller. Whilst the twists may be easy to work out and kind of obvious from the early stages of the film, the real draw is Pike’s incredible performance. The film has great momentum and Marla Grayson is definitely one of my favourite original characters from the past few years. The film is worth watching for Pike’s performance alone (even if she does terrify me), but you’ll be treated to a damn good time as well.
Marla is a great character, and you go on a very interesting journey with her over the course of the film. She’s absolutely the villain of the story, but once things start to hit the fan for her you actually start rooting for her. Then once the very impressive ending comes around and she gets one up on Peter Dinklage’s character you’re really happy that she’s able to continue playing the legal system and scam old people out of their money. Pike gives the character so much personality and charisma that it’s impossible not to like her, despite the fact that you know she’s stab you in the back the moment you turned away from her.
I’m going to address the very end of the film so if you want to be spoiler free then skip ahead to the final paragraph. Grayson’s death at the end of the film is the perfect way to bring the film full circle and tie up all the seemingly throwaway plot details the film brings up. She’s so confident about the fact that she will never die by a man’s hand because they’re too dumb and the threats are too empty then makes it so much more deserved when she’s shot in the street by the son of one of her former clients. Especially as she had finally achieved the financial and social status she had always dreamed of having. I know I said I loved Marla and was happy to see her succeed, but watching her die after her success was the cherry on top of the cake for me as it allowed me to really enjoy the time I spent with her, whilst also feeling that she got the repercussions she deserved all along.
I Care A Lot is a very fun thriller. Whilst the twists may be easy to work out and kind of obvious from the early stages of the film, the real draw is Pike’s incredible performance. The film has great momentum and Marla Grayson is definitely one of my favourite original characters from the past few years. The film is worth watching for Pike’s performance alone (even if she does terrify me), but you’ll be treated to a damn good time as well.