I Care a Lot (2021)

Streaming Services: Netflix
Movie Name/Year: I Care a Lot (2021)
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Length: 118 minutes
Rating: R
Production/Distribution: Black Bear Pictures, Crimple Beck, GEM Entertainment, Elevation Pictures, Amazon Prime Video, ErosSTX International, Joy n Cinema, Netflix, The Searchers
Director: J Blakeson
Writer: J Blakeson
Actors: Rosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage, Eiza González, Dianne Wiest, Chris Messina, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Macon Blair, Alicia Witt, Damian Young, Nicholas Logan, Liz Eng, Celeste Oliva, Georgia Lyman, Moira Driscoll, Gary Tanguay
 
Blurb from IMDb: A crooked legal guardian who drains the savings of her elderly wards meets her match when a woman she tries to swindle turns out to be more than she first appears.
 

Selina’s Point of View:
I Care a Lot was great.
 
The entire film was vicious. It took great care in manufacturing tension that had a lasting effect throughout the entire near 2-hour runtime.
 
Here’s the thing. Every character in the whole movie was unlikable. Everyone was either immorally selfish, violent, cruel, or stupid. Sometimes all of the above. The trailer made me think I’d be rooting against Rosamund Pike’s (Radioactive, The Informer, Beirut) character the whole time, but her opponents are awful people, too.
 

Pike’s performance was outstanding. She made me despise her, right off the bat. Every moment she was on screen I wanted to see her lose. On the other hand, the creators did a great job of making Peter Dinklage (Between Two Ferns: The Movie, Game of Thrones, The Angriest Man in Brooklyn) seem incredibly intimidating and dark. I initially wanted him to win, but as time went on it felt like trying to decide between two evils.
 
In flicks like that, it can feel almost pointless. You need a story with a significant amount of depth and a spectacular script to make it work. Which I Care a Lot had.
 

I wasn’t even sure how I wanted it to end. I didn’t think there was any way for me to feel satisfied when it was over. I was almost certain that’s where it would flop. Instead, the finale turned out to be risky. I enjoyed even that.
 
This is not a feel-good movie. Don’t expect some kind of Hallmark scene where everyone learns their lesson and goes on to be happy for the rest of their lives. If that’s what you want, this is the wrong title for you.
 
As a bit of cynic, though, it was right up my alley.
  

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 81%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 52%
Metascore – 67/100
Metacritic User Score – 2.1/10
IMDB Score – 6.4/10
 
Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 4.5/5
 
Movie Trailer: