'I Care A Lot': Rosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage lock horns
What's the story
It doesn't matter which country you belong to.
If you are reading this review, you might check the law of your land when it comes to treating old people who can't take care of themselves.
This is because Netflix's I Care A Lot focuses on the treatment meted out to elders and the system ensuring wholesome care.
How can that be thrilling or comical?
Latest role
Pike is a court-appointed guardian named Marla Grayson
It can be, in one of the most comically unsettling manner possible.
We see Rosamund Pike (known for Gone Girl, Jack Reacher) essay the role of court-appointed guardian Marla Grayson who, in collusion with a corrupt doctor, targets aged people who may or may not be in their wits to look after themselves.
However, Grayson doesn't pick those who genuinely belong to this category.
The business
How Grayson feels for her clients? Not so pleasing
Grayson's cabin has a wall filled with sticky images of her preys...uhm sorry, elderly people she cares for in an up-state care home.
One phone call from people in the home informs her that one of her patients is dead.
As a reaction, she strips off that person's photo, crushes it with her fingers, and dumps it inside a trash can.
That's the treatment!
Plotline
A doctor gives out an old lady to Grayson
The film, which is based on news reports writer-director J Blakeson got horrified by, also shows the entire process of targeting a candidate purely based on wealth.
Grayson and her lesbian lover scrounge the data given by Dr. Amos, who agrees to testify in court that an aged woman named Jennifer Peterson is showing signs of dementia and is thus, unfit for successful self-care.
Legal robbery
Grayson, her lover Fran whisk the woman away
The game goes on as planned, with the judge believing every word of Dr. Amos out of sympathy and assigns Grayson the court order to literally lift Peterson from her home.
The film wastes no moment to show how Grayson does it, as she and her lover, Fran (Eiza González), knock on Peterson's door with the order to whisk her away with unsuspecting legal jargon.
Enter boss
Dinklage is a mob boss whose mother is missing
However, Grayson has the wrong woman this time.
She keeps her locked up inside that fortress of a care home; but, the wicked manipulator receives tell-tale signs of threats from a lawyer refusing to disclose his client and even a foiled kidnapping attempt on Peterson.
It turns out that a Russian mob boss (Dinklage) is plucking the strings to get his mother back.
Synopsis
Second half loses thrill, conclusion reclaims interest. Our verdict: 4/5
The silent danger lurking in Dinklage's eyes and the body language make well for a fearsome mafia named Roman Lunyov, who obeys his limits before planning the ultimate attack.
The second half of the film, however, loses the thrill to make Grayson's quest for money as smooth as a cakewalk.
But the conclusion reclaims your interest.
Thus, the film gets a good 4/5.