This recent worldwide health crisis has been more than a “bump in the road” for increased lifespans. But let’s be a bit more optimistic…for now. If the vaccines do their intended job, and we adjust our social behavior, for the time being, the human race could be “back on track” to stick around longer than any time in recorded history. As I recall, one of the national newsweekly magazines from 2015 ran a baby photo on its cover and stated that the lil’ cutie could live to 142 years. So, that’s a good..no great thing, right? Oh yes, but there’s the dark side, mainly the failing functions of the mind and body. And, unfortunately, there’s no end of human vultures looking to swoop in and scoop up, unlike the animals it’s cash rather than flesh. One such scavenger is at the heart of this new, somewhat satirical, comedy/thriller. Of course, she denies her villainy, insisting that it’s not about that loot, and declaring that I CARE A LOT.
The caring lady in question is Marla Grayson (Rosamund Pike) who runs a nice little for (big) profit business as a court-appointed guardian for several (her office wall has thirty or so 8 by 10 photos tacked up) senior citizens who have been deemed by their doctor (“bought off” by Marla) unable to care for themselves. In the opening moments of the story, she squashes the court challenge of a man who has been denied seeing his mother who’s in a “skilled care” facility (also in cahoots with guess who). Naturally, Marla has taken over this lady’s finances, emptying his bank accounts and selling her car, house, and everything inside it. There’s no time to celebrate after the court victory, though. She gets a call from the “home” telling her that one of her “wards” has passed, so there’s a plum vacancy open (but Marla has to give him 2 grand to “hold” it for her). Time to call her pal Dr. Amos (Alicia Witt), who just happens to have a seventy-something “cherry”: a widowed lady with no relatives and a paid-off house in a prized neighborhood. Just a note from her is enough for Judge Lomax (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) to assign Marla as her legal guardian. Before the ink is barely dry, she and her (very) personal assistant Fran (Eiza Gonzalez) are escorting a sad and confused Jennifer Peterson (Dianne Wiest) out of her cherished home and checking her into her room at the “care facility” (after taking her cell phone, for safety matters naturally). As Fran and her helpers are emptying out and painting the Peterson place a bewildered cab driver shows up looking for Jennifer. Fran informs him of her hasty relocation. Ah, but this isn’t your regular transport “hack”. He conveys this to a powerful man surrounded by armed “muscle’ in his plush high-rise office. That shady individual, Roman Lunyov (Peter Dinklage) is most unhappy that his visit with Jennifer has been canceled. After getting a bit more intel, he sends his legal “shark” Dean (Chris Messina) to visit Marla, toss off some casual threats, and offer a case of cash (150K). But Marla declines, sensing that someone with very deep pockets is “on the hook”. Thus begins an all-out war, as Jennifer becomes an addled pawn in a most dangerous game. But just which type of criminal mastermind will triumph? And what of the sweet quiet lady in the middle?
Marla may be the most morally complex role that the gifted Ms. Pike has taken on since her breakthrough work as the “Amazing” Amy in 2014’s GONE GIRL. Early in the story’s ongoing narration, she states that “You’re either predator or prey.”, And though I’ve mentioned the feathered scavengers, Marla is most definitely a shark, an alpha one at that. She’s constantly moving, seeking out another tasty ‘ward” to gobble up. And in a couple of scenes, we see her strike back when the threatened males attempt to push her into a corner (she alludes to a brutal childhood). Somehow Pike makes her more compelling than repugnant with her confident body language and staccato line delivery. Luckily her passions are not all wrapped up in acquisitions, illustrated by her affection for Fran. Gonzalez makes her more than dangerous “eye candy”, though still exuding the same sultry siren call from her BABY DRIVER diva. Fran and Marla have a deep loving bond, perhaps united by their shared “hard knock” past and the thrill of being just inches (clients, really) away from the “sweet life”. The two make quite a dynamite duo. And they need that explosive energy when dealing with Dinklage’s sinister crime kingpin (from a one-sided phone call over “mules’ we know he’s just as exploitive and evil). Roman is a tight compact ball of fury whose can be “set off” with the most delicate announcement of bad news, really whatever blocks his path. And this raging monster is giving a heart due to his devotion to Wiest’s Linda. She grabs our sympathies immediately as she’s prodded and hustled with all manner of condescending attitude and physical interaction. With her furrowed brow and “welling up” gaze, Linda’s all of our dearest matriarchal figures, debased by the evils of the world. But then Wiest shows us her dark, dark side. Through the haze of the home’s forced medications, Linda spits venom at the startled Marla. Wiest shows us that the “cherry” is far from a helpless patsy. And though he’s only in a few scenes, Messina makes a strong impression as the smooth “mouth-piece” Dean Ericson, who’s quick to toss out a business card, while biding his time to formulate a subtle threat of violent retaliation. His perfectly coiffed exterior can’t quite disguise the tough street fighter who’ll slash you as you dart into an alley. He’s a formidable sparring partner for Pike’s Marla and their scenes in and out of the courtroom crackle with tension.
Writer/director J Blakeson has whipped up a most imaginative and unpredictable cautionary tale that’s a call to action and a rollercoaster thrill ride. In the first act, we’re nudged to feel outraged at the legal (in appearance) exploitation of the elderly by the “ice queen”-like Marla. But then she almost becomes an “anti-heroine” in the mode of WALL STREET’s Gordon Geeko using lives as commodities in a dark satire of modern avarice. Then the plot takes a near “U-turn” with the introduction of Roman (though the Russian mobsters are now a too easy “go-to” bad guy cliche), as we hope for Linda’s rescue and Marla’s comeuppance. But somehow Blakeson gets us rooting for Marla and Fran, as though they’re a modern, wealthier take on THELMA AND LOUISE. Then it’s apparent that the two opposing forces are united in their anger with society’s attitudes toward them (Marla and Fran for their gender, Roman for his size). It’s quite an impressive feat to completely steer audience allegiances so often over the story. Aside from the typical action flick Russian mob, Marla’s constant vaping (now film shorthand for “jerk”) almost veered the film into “parody-town” (guess it’s a modern take on the big macho Cuban cigars). Still when it works (the handling of Linda is blood-boiling fuel), you’re grateful for this inventive take on the crime/action “pot-boilers”. And though the “tacked-on” epilogue feels a bit like an ending that the 1930s Hayes Office (a film decency group) would have insisted on, I’m guessing that Blakeson, like his complex creation Marla, would tell all of us that, “I CARE A LOT”. And his passion shows.
3.5 Out of 4
I CARE A LOT streams exclusively on Netflix beginning Friday, February 19, 2021
