I Care a Lot

“A disabled character on the silver screen who’s not solely defined by their condition is all too rare.”

Title: I Care a Lot (2021)
Director: J Blakeson👨🏼🇬🇧
Writer: J Blakeson👨🏼🇬🇧

Reviewed by Alicja Johnson 👩🏼🇺🇸

—SPOILERS AHEAD—

Technical: 3/5

Stylish, sophisticated, compelling: All three words describe the recent Netflix Original film I Care A Lot, as well as its protagonist. But “good”? That’s up for debate.

I Care A Lot introduces us to Marla Grayson (Rosamund Pike), a con artist who uses a network of corrupt accomplices to prematurely place elderly patients under her legal guardianship. Once granted full reign over a new ward, Marla moves them to a retirement community, cutting them off from the world as she milks their assets for the rest of their life. But when she preys upon the wrong woman, Jennifer Peterson (Dianne Wiest), a former Russian mob boss (Peter Dinklage) threatens Marla’s life. Worse than bodily danger—in her megalomaniacal mind, at least—Jennifer’s connections jeopardize Marla’s entire operation.

Meticulous wardrobe and set design establish Marla’s posh world, giving us delicious eye candy to snack on. Pike adopts the same cool, calculating veneer that earned her an Oscar nomination in 2015 as the devious Amy Dunne in Gone Girl. We know she means business by her no-nonsense bob (the more precise the hair cut, the less nonsense allowed), and like any good con woman she exudes effortless charm whenever it serves her. Yet despite these nuggets, and Pike giving it her best, as a whole the character feels hollow. Marla has few redeeming qualities, and the screenplay doesn’t offer any background that might explain how she came to her exploitative ways.

On the bright side, Pike and her co-stars seem to revel in their roles. Eiza González, Chris Messina, Wiest, and Dinklage are a treat to watch, as long as you don’t think too hard about the logistics and technicalities of the plot. Unfortunately, however, the third act of I Care A Lot ramps up the absurdity to an unbelievable degree and abandons any sense of pacing along the way. You would think that Marla smashing out the windshield of a fully-submerged car to escape from drowning (all while being drugged) would come at the climax of the film. Yet the end of that sequence leaves us with 25 more tonally-skewed minutes that we spend watching supposedly smart characters make impractical choices. Ultimately, the movie is nothing more than a forgettable romp that leaves you scratching your head, wondering, “What did I just watch?”

Gender: 4.5/5
Does it pass the Bechdel Test? YES

Let’s talk about antiheroes and gender! Society loves a good protagonist who shirks the typical traits of a lead, much like Marla does in I Care A Lot. It’s particularly exciting to have a new antiheroine on the block considering how the presence of intriguing flaws are usually reserved for male protagonists. Compare the broody Bruce Wayne to perfect Diana Prince, if you will. Even better, Marla gets to be just as ruthless and self-serving as her male counterparts. The trouble is, however, she lacks the depth needed to make us forgive her villainous ways.

Marla’s opening voiceover describes her cynical philosophy about the world: You can either be a predator or prey, and she is a “lioness.” Regrettably, we never learn why she feels that way, making it challenging to sympathize with her. Our favorite antiheroes all have a backstory that (somewhat) balances their more deplorable behavior. Think about Taxi Driver’s Travis Bickle, a Vietnam veteran who only becomes murderous after his untreated depression deteriorates to an unbearable degree. Or Louise Sawyer, who just wanted to go for a leisurely road trip with Thelma, but ends up running from the law because she knows the police won’t excuse her killing the man who tried to rape her best friend. While the circumstances don’t necessarily exonerate these iconic antiheroes from their crimes, knowing this background helps us see the characters as real humans, rather than monsters. I Care a Lot’s Marla lacks any such complexity, instead contributing to the demonization of strong women.

Furthermore, sometimes a single line or scene in a female-centric film gives it an unshakable male gaze, which can be distracting. Watching I Care a Lot, I experienced this six minutes in, when Marla responds to an angry man who has just lost to her in court with, “Does it sting more because I’m a woman?” Regrettably, her eye roll-worthy zinger is only the first of other lines about womanhood in the movie that rings artificial. Sure enough, male writer-director J Blakeson penned the screenplay. This complaint isn’t to say that men shouldn’t write or direct films about women, but it’s slightly frustrating to see another movie that capitalizes on a “strong female lead” that largely excludes women behind the camera. While Andrea Ajemian does stand as executive producer, key creatives such as the film’s four producers or its writer, director, cinematographer, editor, art director, and composer were all men.

Yet at the end of the day, I Care a Lot squarely focuses on women with agency (if you discount our fateful victim Jennifer, but we’ll talk more about her later). Marla serves as the driving force of the narrative, leading her intricate guardianship operation. Her partner and significant other Fran (González) clearly plays an integral role in the scheme. Finally, Dr. Karen Amos (Alicia Witt) aids and abets Marla from the medical side. Despite being somewhat underdeveloped, these characters are the definitive reason that I Care a Lot scores so well on the gender scale. Less than half of the highest-grossing movies each year even have a female lead or co-lead. So it’s pretty revolutionary to have three, each featured prominently and all of whom get to be intelligent, resourceful, and flawed.

Race: 3.5/5

I Care a Lot includes only two named characters of color in the whole cast. In addition to Fran, played by Mexico City native González, Black actor Isiah Whitlock Jr. presides over Marla’s various court cases as Judge Lomax—the movie’s only genuinely good person. While we absolutely need more representations of Black people in such positions of power, it’s not great that Blakeson paints Lomax to be inadvertently complicit in these atrocious crimes. We only ever see him in the courtroom, dismissing valid complaints from Marla’s victims—the implication being that he’s wrapped around her finger. Perhaps the director intended for the character’s blind faith in Marla to be a testament of her manipulative prowess, but the way Lomax so totally falls for her facade suggests naivete. Even giving the Judge a single moment of doubt about Marla or one of her cases would have improved the representation.

Fran, on the other hand, gives us more to talk about. Though Marla takes center stage as the mastermind, Fran proves essential to the scheme. From investigating Jennifer’s Russian mafia ties to hunting down a mob boss’ location, she proves herself to be so much more than simply “Marla’s romantic partner.” Another point in his favor, Blakeson makes little fanfare over the film’s leads being in an interracial relationship. In many cases, Hollywood only depicts a “swirl” in stories that hinge upon the complexities of interracial love. In contrast, I appreciated the normalizing touch the movie gives Fran and Marla’s love affair.

The last thing worth noting here is that actors of color do populate the backdrop of the film. However, the film’s demographics hardly match the location, considering that 49% of Clevelanders are African American.

Deduction for Age: -0.50

“A ruthless con artist thinks she’s found the perfect prey. Her mistake? Crossing someone as vicious as she is.” Netflix’s description of I Care a Lot sure sets us up for a face-off between two powerhouses—presumably Marla vs. Jennifer. Played by 74-year-old Wiest, Jennifer struggles to the best of her ability against Marla’s ironclad control over her life. But any resistance proves futile, and once her son Roman (Dinklage) independently discovers her plight, the battle becomes Marla vs. Roman.

Of course it’s great that the film includes Wiest in its main cast, considering that adults over 50 appear in just 15% of images spanning movies and ads despite making up about one-third of the U.S. population. But her acclaimed talents seem entirely wasted here, given that Blakeson denies her means of fighting her oppressor in favor of allowing Roman to save the day. It doesn’t help that the writer-director blatantly adorns Jennifer with ageist stereotypes—like when she enters the insecure passcode of “111111” to unlock her phone. Showing such negative cliches about seniors harmfully impacts the way we view aging, and can even shorten our lives.

Speaking of stereotypes, the entire conceit of I Care a Lot—a woman who uses society’s beliefs about seniors being helpless to disenfranchise the elderly—has ageism baked into it. The very same prejudice fuels the real-life world of predatory guardianship. In reading a New York Times article on the topic, one can’t help noticing the similarities between Marla’s tactics and the behavior of actual guardians. The sheer likeness to a deep societal problem that has even drawn scrutiny from Congress makes Blakeson’s movie feel rather exploitative. It’d be one thing to raise awareness of a genuine issue, but by centering a corrupt guardian whose con reaps swanky and aspirational rewards, I Care a Lot makes no comment on the wolfish behavior itself. Instead, all of the film’s older adults except Jennifer are reduced to inanimate faces who line Marla’s photo-wall of victims.

Bonus for LGBTQ: +1.00

Marla and Fran aren’t only an interracial couple. If you have not surmised by now, they are two women deeply in love, in a same-sex relationship that Blakeson treats with ease. You could say that Fran is the Bonnie to Marla’s Clyde, if the infamous Barrow gang leaders had a healthier relationship. The term “normalizing” again feels like an appropriate way to describe the portrayal of these ladies’ queerness.

Some may feel that presenting Marla and Fran as criminals actually hurts LGBTQ representation, seeing as Hollywood still queer-codes villains to this day. The criticism is valid, as such messaging unequivocally spreads homophobia. However, in the world of I Care a Lot, almost every single person is morally bankrupt, and we’re clearly meant to sympathize with the lesbian couple. Their moments together are the only times Marla seems human.

Bonus for Disability: +0.75

Peter Dinklage may be the most well-known actor with achondroplasia, more commonly known as dwarfism, but his role in I Care a Lot has nothing to do with that. He has refused to play parts that make his size into a joke, a principle he maintains through the character Roman. The former mob boss proves himself a worthy opponent to Marla, metaphorically meeting her blow by blow. A disabled character on the silver screen who’s not solely defined by their condition is all too rare. Now, if only we could do the same for little person actors who aren’t already famous...

Mediaversity Grade: B 4.08/5

Underneath the sleek visuals and topsy-turvy plot points of I Care a Lot, you won’t find the insightful commentary about capitalism that Blakeson might have intended. And though the movie brings many marginalized communities into its fold, the quality of their representation is a mixed bag.

Like I Care a Lot? Try these other titles that tackle capitalism and class.

Grade: BLiFebruary 28, 2021Great for: LGBTQ, Great for: Disability