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I Care a Lot
Stylish direction, a disturbing story, and a solid ensemble cast come together to make 2020's I Care a Lot bold and riveting entertainment. What starts out as an indictment on the system of elder care and assisted living in our country, methodically turns into a very dangerous cat and mouse game where it's very difficult to cheer for the cat or the mouse. Will try to review without spoilers
Marla Grayson is a con artist of the highest order. She targets elderly and well off senior citizens, has herself appointed as their guardians, commits them to an elder care facility, and then bilks them out of everything they own. Her comfortable and profitable hustle is threatened when she gets appointed guardian to a woman named Jennifer Peterson, who it turns out was definitely the wrong person to target.
Director and screenwriter J Blakeson knocks it out of the park here with a story that starts off with an almost docudrama feel, as we witness Marla Grayson in action with a hustle that she is extremely good at and has made her a very comfortable living. We can't help but be impressed by a woman whose simple on the surface con has worked so well that she has judges, police, and an entire assisted care facility in her pocket, though the details of how she was able to do this aren't really addressed. Her power is methodically established so that the viewer instantly feels this woman has to be stopped. She is established as the cat in this game, but when the mouse enters the story and seems to have more power than she does, viewer allegiance tend to waver. By the halfway point of the story, we don't really want to see either win leading to an ending that initially angers but will have the viewer cheering as the credits roll. It should be obvious that this film requires complete attention, but said attention is paid off in spades.
Blakeson's direction is undeniably imaginative, employing some unique camerawork and terrific utilization of slow motion, advancing the story at times without the use of dialogue. There's a wonderful shot of a safe deposit box being opened and the camera is underneath the box which was unlike anything I've ever seen. Blakeson gets huge assists from film editor Mark Eckersly, art director Michael C. Stone, and cinematographer Doug Emmett. Big bouquet to Marc Canham's creepy music as well.
Blakeson's hand-picked cast delivers the goods, headed by Rosamond Pike as Marla, a fire and ice performance that won her a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy, though I found little comedic about this film. Peter Dinklage does a bone-chilling turn as the mouse in this story, proving once again to be an actor incapable of giving a bad performance. Enjoyed Eliza Gonzalez as Marla's assistant/girlfriend, Chris Messina as a slick lawyer, Damian Young as one of Marla's winged monkeys at the hospital, Nicholas Logan as Dinklage's henchman and Oscar winner Dianne Wiest as Jennifer Peterson. A crisp and cold crime drama that had this reviewer on the edge of his chair for the entire running time.
Stylish direction, a disturbing story, and a solid ensemble cast come together to make 2020's I Care a Lot bold and riveting entertainment. What starts out as an indictment on the system of elder care and assisted living in our country, methodically turns into a very dangerous cat and mouse game where it's very difficult to cheer for the cat or the mouse. Will try to review without spoilers
Marla Grayson is a con artist of the highest order. She targets elderly and well off senior citizens, has herself appointed as their guardians, commits them to an elder care facility, and then bilks them out of everything they own. Her comfortable and profitable hustle is threatened when she gets appointed guardian to a woman named Jennifer Peterson, who it turns out was definitely the wrong person to target.
Director and screenwriter J Blakeson knocks it out of the park here with a story that starts off with an almost docudrama feel, as we witness Marla Grayson in action with a hustle that she is extremely good at and has made her a very comfortable living. We can't help but be impressed by a woman whose simple on the surface con has worked so well that she has judges, police, and an entire assisted care facility in her pocket, though the details of how she was able to do this aren't really addressed. Her power is methodically established so that the viewer instantly feels this woman has to be stopped. She is established as the cat in this game, but when the mouse enters the story and seems to have more power than she does, viewer allegiance tend to waver. By the halfway point of the story, we don't really want to see either win leading to an ending that initially angers but will have the viewer cheering as the credits roll. It should be obvious that this film requires complete attention, but said attention is paid off in spades.
Blakeson's direction is undeniably imaginative, employing some unique camerawork and terrific utilization of slow motion, advancing the story at times without the use of dialogue. There's a wonderful shot of a safe deposit box being opened and the camera is underneath the box which was unlike anything I've ever seen. Blakeson gets huge assists from film editor Mark Eckersly, art director Michael C. Stone, and cinematographer Doug Emmett. Big bouquet to Marc Canham's creepy music as well.
Blakeson's hand-picked cast delivers the goods, headed by Rosamond Pike as Marla, a fire and ice performance that won her a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy, though I found little comedic about this film. Peter Dinklage does a bone-chilling turn as the mouse in this story, proving once again to be an actor incapable of giving a bad performance. Enjoyed Eliza Gonzalez as Marla's assistant/girlfriend, Chris Messina as a slick lawyer, Damian Young as one of Marla's winged monkeys at the hospital, Nicholas Logan as Dinklage's henchman and Oscar winner Dianne Wiest as Jennifer Peterson. A crisp and cold crime drama that had this reviewer on the edge of his chair for the entire running time.