Art & Life

‘I Care A Lot’ a mind twisting bend: Small time hustlers going too far in a scheme too true

CONTRIBUTED: A film that could almost be thought of as a call to female empowerment shows strong women and business minded Marla Grayson (Rosamund Pike) be almost the epitome of an independent woman.  

Owning a small business with her partner Fran (Eliza Gonzalez) she is the master of her own world. Calculating, smuggish seemingly narcissistic Pike displays almost perfectly the type of woman whose house you want to burn down.  

Her hustle fits her personality; she is legal guardians for elderly people- then slowly draining them for money and liquidating their assets until death. While many would assume this is illegal it is in reality not and what the movie portrays in this aspect very much happens. Particularly strong for this movie was almost the dark comedic way it portrayed this happening.  

Soon enough, though, the movie revolves around a certain elderly lady named Jennifer (Diane West). Marla and Fran refer to her as a “Cherry” a wealthy elderly woman perfect to become entrapped in their schemes.  

Before anyone even knows it, they are caught in a deep psychological game with a Russian mobster named Roman Lunyov (Peter Dinklage). Here the movie moves almost to the absurd aptly well with the movie seemingly taking two paths of thought.  

Marla who is a staunch feminist in her right fighting against what she perceives to be male dominance and Roman fighting for a deep love for a close family member. A viewer could root for either character really making this movie very complex and well written in showing two different visions and personal stories inside it.  

Whether or not the choice to cast Dinklage was intentional from the beginning of the writing of the script would be interesting to know because Dinklage being the actor he is brings more dark humor aspects to this movie.  

While no ending can be said, I will grace you with this – at the end you may sit with a weird feeling of anger and content wondering why or even how.