I knew that crime/thriller I Care a Lot was about Marla Grayson (Rosamund Pike), a despicable woman who takes pleasure in draining the savings of her vulnerable elderly clients. What I didn’t know is I’d end up detesting Marla quite as much as I did.

To say I was extra impatient to see her get her comeuppance feels like an understatement. Furthermore, I’m not sure if I’ve ever been more incensed by a character the way I was with Marla. OK, maybe Guy Pierce’s Charley Rakes in Lawless (2012) is even more despicable. I mean, I truly, deeply hated him. I digress. 

Written/directed by J. Blakeson, I Care a Lot is generally well-acted. However, there are parts of the story I didn’t fully buy. Specifically, occurrences that seemed to happen the way they did, simply to serve the story. Only, ironically, they ended up doing the movie a disservice because I didn’t believe them. Much of this takes place once Marla became more involved with Peter Dinklage’s character.

There are very few if any clear cut ‘good people’ in this movie. This is a truth that made watching I Care a Lot more uncomfortable than anticipated. Maybe I wouldn’t have felt so slightly shortchanged had I been able to connect more with any characters’ story, and in a way that made me identify with them on a less than surface level.

As for my favourite things about Blakeson’s film, Chris Messina is great as the Lawyer and I found Marla’s style delightfully noteworthy; as is her general badassery. There’s no doubt that her place in the list of tough female movie characters sporting blunt bobs has a corner in my mind. I only wish it had one in my heart too.

Watch I Care a Lot if you’re curious.

Happy Film Loving

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