‘I Care A Lot’ Delivers A New Villain You Love to Hate

Netflix is no stranger when it comes to hit movies and television shows. This past week, the streaming service released its new movie I Care A Lot. The comedy/thriller provides a commentary on the elderly population in the United States and shows what happens when one woman takes advantage of the wrong grandma.

            I Care A Lot follows the actions of legal guardian Marla, played by Golden Globe winner Rosamund Pike, whose entire career revolves around scamming the elderly out of their money. She creates a scheme in which she convinces the doctors of the elderly patients, that their patients are incapable of taking care of themselves and therefore need a legal guardian. From there, she sells the elderly people’s assets, homes and material things, all while placing them in an assisted living home. All is going well for Marla until she decides to tackle an old lady named Jennifer, played by Dianne West. Little does Marla know, but Jennifer has a very powerful son, Roman played by Peter Dinklage, who is involved in the Russian Mafia. From here is when Marla’s luck turns south.

 At first, the viewer believes Marla to be the ultimate villain, but that changes to Roman halfway through the film. Then the villainy shifts yet again back to Marla. Marla and Roman play characters that the audience loves to hate because they hold on to the hope that they are going to get their just desserts. By the end of the film just that happens, but not in the way one would expect.

            I started to align myself with the “bad guys” over the course of the film simply because of what Marla is doing to the elderly. I ended up wanting the villains to win in the end because the main character took advantage of too many senior citizens and justice needs to be served. As the viewer, I then had to decide to align myself with the lesser of two evils, the lesser in this instance being a Russian mob boss who wants his mom back at whatever the cost.

Another part of this film that allows for its success is the mystery and thriller element in it combined with the comedy. There are many twists and turns that I Care A Lot takes in order to develop the film. Because of this, the audience is constantly asking themselves what is going to happen next, that paired with witty one-liners, allows for an edge of seat experience. Rosamund Pike delivers the perfect villainess role while still managing to maintain the aspect of comedy in her lines.

So often in the film, one finds themself wanting to turn it off because the actions of the characters are remarkably frustrating. But because of the mystery element and the performances of the cast the audience find themselves holding on just a little longer in order to see what will happen. The writing in the film leaves the viewers infuriated and mystified at the same time.

At the end of the day, I Care A Lot is yet another hit credited to Netflix. The success of this film can be mainly attributed to the mystery it holds and the portrayal of the villains. This film may not be one to watch all together with the family, but it would certainly make for some interesting conversation.