I remember when English actress Rosamund Pike broke through globally with David Fincher’s Gone Girl (2014), there were worries from film fans that the impressive, memorable performance would pigeon-hole Pike as a messed-up, crazy lady on screen. After all, it happened to Linda Fiorentino after John Dahl’s The Last Seduction (1994), and although she had her share of the movie star limelight, Sharon Stone never really escaped her iconic character in Paul Verhoeven’s Basic Instinct (1992) either.
Fortunately for Pike, she hasn’t been properly typecast yet. But she also hasn’t found a hit as big as Gone Girl with any of the period pieces she’s starred in since then. This week, movie lovers will see her revisit the villainous femme fatale type for the first time in almost seven years with J. Blakeson’s dark satire I Care a Lot, now on Netflix.
Marla Grayson (Pike) is a successful, professional, full time legal guardian for many elderly patients in nursing homes. What people don’t know is that she shamelessly scams and manipulates the law into letting her take responsibility of these senior citizens just so she can make money ripping off their inheritances. Marla’s agenda is foolproof with the help of her girlfriend and business partner, Fran (Eiza González), and opportunist medical doctor Karen Amos (Alicia Witt). When Karen offers the duo a ‘cherry’ — a single, childless elderly person with no close family connections — she’s found, it seems like the perfect opportunity. That is until the cherry, Jennifer (Dianne Wiest) turns out to have a secret relative, Roman (Peter Dinklage), who is a head in the Russian mob.
View this post on Instagram
Unlike Emerald Fennell’s own recent satire Promising Young Woman, where Carey Mulligan’s lead is punishing people who arguably deserve it; Blakeson’s I Care a Lot has no redeeming characters to be found. Our protagonists are unethical frauds and the antagonists are the Mafia. Even by dark comedy standards you’re wondering a lot during the first two acts why we should care what happens to Marla and Fran once they’re in trouble. Interestingly enough, I have the same feelings with Blakeson’s film I previously had with Promising Young Woman. Here we have another questionable narrative with a weak third act that is just barely saved by the last 30 seconds of the movie. Everything technical and aesthetical in I Care a Lot is fine and Rosamund Pike is good, even channeling back to her Amazing Amy look from Gone Girl with the same blunt haircut. González’s casting is particularly a revelation, as before now she would have been one of the last starlets I might have pictured playing a tomboy lesbian. Yet she totally pulls it off.
Depending on your tolerance for morally bankrupt characters, I Care a Lot is one of those decent new releases that is perfect for streaming at home during a free night. You can stream it on Netflix here.
Have you seen I Care a Lot yet? Did you find it hard to root for the leads, or were you cheering on Rosamund Pike? Let us know in the comments!
Want More Movie Reviews? Then You Should Read:
Promising Young Woman Is The Dark Comedy Thriller You’ve Been Dreaming Of
