Best known for her role as Amy Dunne in “Gone Girl,” Rosamund Pike’s newest movie endeavor is “I Care a Lot,” where she plays Marla Grayson, a legal guardian who abuses the court system to steal money from the elderly. “I Care a Lot” is the latest psychological thriller to join Netflix’s lineup of new movies and is already gaining a lot of attention for its unique and intricate plotline.
According to Grayson, there are only two types of people in this world “the people who take, and those getting took.” From the outset, it is easy to see that Grayson belongs to the group of those who take. She maintains a calm persona and comes off as someone who truly cares for the health and wellbeing of her clients, but viewers quickly begin to notice her sly, devious smiles after she is awarded cases and they are introduced to her web of personnel who are also corrupt and go to great lengths to help her seamlessly pull off her plot.
She has a doctor who declares patients unfit to live on their own and a retirement facility that deals with the business side of the deal, but her greatest asset is her ability to appear kind and respectable in the courtroom and continue to win case after case.
After one of Marla’s clients passes away and a bed opens up in the nursing home, she has the opportunity to take on another case and jumps at the chance to move Jennifer Peterson (Dianne West) into the facility. Jennifer has no family and lives alone in a nice house, making her an ideal client for Marla and her team. Things begin to crumble when a suspicious man arrives at Jennifer’s house asking for her and then afterward when Marla receives a visit from a lawyer claiming to represent Jennifer.
Marla starts to realize that Jennifer might not be the simple old woman she once thought and tries to find out what is going on in her life behind the scenes.
Instead of focusing on the corruption within the caregiving industry, “I Care a Lot” transitions into an interesting plotline with the surprising revelation that Jennifer Peterson stole the identity of a young girl who died of polio decades ago. Fran (Eiza Gonzalez), Marla’s assistant and girlfriend, finds an old news article that reveals this information, and both of the women are deeply confused about who they are dealing with.
This new information shows that who they once thought was an innocent old lady with no family, actually has a family who is willing to go to extreme lengths to free her from the facility and reclaim her assets. She is now up against Roman Lunyov (Peter Dinklage) a drug dealer and crime lord, who also just so happens to be Jennifer’s son.
“I Care a Lot” is definitely worth the watch and will leave you with many questions and unsettled about what you thought you knew about the elderly care industry. Pike once again solidifies her ability to deliver a stellar performance in a psychological thriller that will keep viewers on the edge of their seats. Will Marla eventually meet her demise or will her calm, cool demeanor lead to a successful career as a high-profile con artist? I guess you will just have to watch and find out!
Thumbnail photo courtesy of @edgarwright on Twitter.
