I Care a Lot
Stream
A court-appointed legal guardian defrauds her older clients and traps them under her care. But her latest mark comes with some unexpected baggage.
What critics thought
Rosamund Pike's performance as the predatory guardian Marla Grayson drew near-universal admiration, but the film itself split critics sharply — some found J Blakeson's pitch-black satire of eldercare exploitation exhilarating and wickedly funny, while others felt its script was too thin and its protagonist too deliberately repellent to generate any real engagement. The ending in particular divided audiences, with some reading its irony as the point and others finding it a misfire that undermined everything that came before.
“when he finally gets around to staging an action sequence, it's a doozy [...] because he takes his time and has you hanging on every moment”
Owen Gleiberman·Variety
“Blakeson means for us to champion Marla as a feminist icon for a while, though he deflates this potential moral idiocy with an ironic ending.”
Chuck Bowen·Slant Magazine
“the acting's uniformly strong [...] the script is distressingly weak.”
Michael Phillips·Chicago Tribune
“The film is arch, but no triumph, an airless exercise in mistrusting its audience, and all of it is accompanied by pummeling music that sounds like a Vangelis wannabe recorded during a brownout.”
Joe Morgenstern·The Wall Street Journal
“an unexpectedly gripping thriller that seesaws between comedy and horror”
The New York Times
Genres
Comedy, Crime, Drama
Cast & Crew
J BlakesonDirector
Rosamund PikeMarla Grayson
Peter DinklageRoman Lunyov
Eiza GonzálezFran
Dianne WiestJennifer Peterson
Chris MessinaDean Ericson
Isiah Whitlock Jr.Judge Lomax
Macon BlairFeldstrom
Alicia WittDr. Karen Amos
Damian YoungSam Rice
Nicholas LoganAlexi Ignatyev
Liz EngAdelaide
Celeste OlivaPolice Detective
Doug EmmettCinematographyI Care a Lot
A court-appointed legal guardian defrauds her older clients and traps them under her care. But her latest mark comes with some unexpected baggage.
What critics thought
Rosamund Pike's performance as the predatory guardian Marla Grayson drew near-universal admiration, but the film itself split critics sharply — some found J Blakeson's pitch-black satire of eldercare exploitation exhilarating and wickedly funny, while others felt its script was too thin and its protagonist too deliberately repellent to generate any real engagement. The ending in particular divided audiences, with some reading its irony as the point and others finding it a misfire that undermined everything that came before.
“when he finally gets around to staging an action sequence, it's a doozy [...] because he takes his time and has you hanging on every moment”
Owen Gleiberman·Variety
“Blakeson means for us to champion Marla as a feminist icon for a while, though he deflates this potential moral idiocy with an ironic ending.”
Chuck Bowen·Slant Magazine
“the acting's uniformly strong [...] the script is distressingly weak.”
Michael Phillips·Chicago Tribune
“The film is arch, but no triumph, an airless exercise in mistrusting its audience, and all of it is accompanied by pummeling music that sounds like a Vangelis wannabe recorded during a brownout.”
Joe Morgenstern·The Wall Street Journal
“an unexpectedly gripping thriller that seesaws between comedy and horror”
The New York Times
Genres
Comedy, Crime, Drama
Cast & Crew
J BlakesonDirectorRosamund PikeMarla GraysonPeter DinklageRoman LunyovEiza GonzálezFranDianne WiestJennifer PetersonChris MessinaDean EricsonIsiah Whitlock Jr.Judge LomaxMacon BlairFeldstromAlicia WittDr. Karen AmosDamian YoungSam RiceNicholas LoganAlexi IgnatyevLiz EngAdelaideCeleste OlivaPolice DetectiveDoug EmmettCinematographyStream