Marla Grayson lives by defrauding elders in Massachusetts along with Fran, her girlfriend.
The wicked scheme is to convince the court to grant Marla legal guardianship over seniors that cannot take care of themselves. She then places them in a caring facility where they are drugged and kept. Communication devices are not allowed inside the ward, and no other person, besides the guardian, can enter the establishment.
After cutting off elders from the outside world, it is time to sell their homes and assets and make a profit. Marla reasons that this is to pay the facility and her services. But some people can see through her ploy like Mr. Feldstrom.
Marla visits her friend, Dr. Karen Amos, one day to talk about a patient they can exploit. Her name is Jennifer Peterson, a wealthy retiree with no family.
After falsifying the senior’s medical records, the legal court gives Marla guardianship over her. They move her immediately to the facility then proceed to sell all of her assets. While running through the elder’s possessions, they discover a pack of diamonds worth millions of dollars.
The diamonds are not part of Mrs. Peterson’s property, which means no one will look for it when it disappears. So they decided to steal it and move it to a secret location.
But it turns out that scamming Mrs. Peterson is their biggest mistake. The elder is well-connected to a Russian Mafia, and they are willing to make aggressive decisions to get what they want. And what they want is to have the diamonds back and to free the woman out of Marla’s grip.
Marla is an interesting character. No doubt about it. She does not bow down to any person, and she characterized herself as a lioness, a predator in this urban jungle. She believes that this world is unfair, so she fights with her wits rather than brawns.
It is clear that Marla lacks empathy towards her prey. Though not for the people she cares about the most. She is clearly capable of understanding that what she’s doing is wrong. But the film is not about Marla discerning what’s right or wrong; it’s about winning.
That is why she feels like a one-dimensional character. There is no explanation why she’s this cunning besides her desire to win and be rich. Why should people care about Marla’s triumph and success? What justifies the actions she made?
Honestly, there’s no point telling Marla’s story at all because the film puts no value on what she does. It instead celebrates the lead character’s victory, as if she deserves it for being a woman and overcoming obstacles with ferocity.
“I Care a Lot” is only watchable because J. Blakeson assembled an excellent cast. Rosamund Pike’s performance is a stand-out. She plays the role of Marla Grayson with conviction and tenacity. It is almost as good as her portrayal of Amy Elliott Dunne on “Gone Girl” minus the dark and shady overtone.
In summary, “I Care a Lot” is only compelling because of its many twists and turns. But I hardly enjoyed every minute of it. I feel like it’s glorifying bad people and what they do for their own interest. It’s also a faux feminist film that is neither empowering and enlightening.
2/5
