A Netflix Original Picture, Written and Directed by J Blakeson.
Marla Grayson (Rosamund Pike), along with her girlfriend Fran (Eiza Gonzalez), is a con woman who makes her living by persuading a judge to appoint her to guardianship over elders living on their own, under the guise that they cannot take care of themselves. When she takes on Jennifer Peterson (Dianne Wiest) into her con, she bites off more than she can chew as dangerous forces close in on her and Marla must fight back to save her business and her life. The film also co-stars Peter Dinklage and Chris Messina, is from writer/director J Blakeson, and is distributed in the US by Netflix and internationally by Amazon.
Taking off from the basic premise, the film goes is some really surprising directions, which I will not spoil here, but something the film does well is set the stakes and the central characters straight away and has no unnecessary bloat. This allows for the film to maintain a consistently high energy, and along with the style that comes from the costume design and cinematography. Mixing multiple genres, I Care A Lot is a non-stop thrill ride throughout almost its entire runtime, with just the final five minutes proving to be controversial and for some, won’t work as well as the rest of the film.
There are many standout scenes throughout, but one that will be tough to beat all year for me, is a high-tension negotiation scene between Rosamund Pike and Chris Messina. It is full of snappy dialogue, the performances walk the perfect balancing act between camp and serious, and the camera menacingly moves in on their faces as the stakes get raised. It really sets the tone for the rest of the film and is one of the finest scenes you will see.
The central relationship in the film is the romantic one between Marla and Fran, and while it isn’t the focus of the plot, and the fact that it is a LGBT relationship is also refreshingly never referenced, but the relationship itself is electric. Pike and Gonzalez have some of the best sexual chemistry put on film in a while, and every scene they share together feels unpredictable and like they could go for each other at any time. The modern film industry has lost this in many ways, and yet despite no being explicit in any way, this relationship brings real chemistry back.
Rosamund Pike is very much the lead here and she dominates the film, with her iconic Blonde bob and sociopathic monologues instantly calling back to her memorable performance as Amy Dunne in Gone Girl (2014). The character of Marla is reprehensible and yet is very much our protagonist, so it needs an actor as skilled as Pike to walk that line perfectly, and allow us to be thoroughly entertained by this character and the events she is caught up in. The film is a late release and due to the amount of other contenders Netflix has, it is unlikely that this performance is going to get much more attention outside of the Golden Globe nomination, but it really deserves to as it is one of finest performances of the season.
The whole ensemble bounce of each other superbly and are one of the best casts of the year, with each member bringing their own dynamic to the film. The legendary Dianne Wiest has the least to do but she has multiple memorable scenes, specifically when spewing venom towards Marla in one particular scene, and it needed an actress with the level of range that Wiest has in order to make it believable.
As mentioned above, Chris Messina has a scene with Pike that is one of the standouts of the year, but he also has multiple other really impressive scenes, particularly in the first half of the film. He brings a charismatic and yet smarmy energy to the screen, and along with his sharp and colourful suits, Messina again shows he is one of the best of the ‘Hollywood Chris’s’.
Essentially all of Eiza Gonzalez’s scenes are alongside Rosamund Pike, and for any actor it would be easy to be overpowered by Pike, and yet Gonzalez manages to still stand out. Apart from her already mentioned sexual chemistry with Pike, Gonzalez also brings a real style and energy to the film, and at every turn she oozes flirting energy. In a film that is built on some very dark subject matters, having this type of presence is really beneficial. If she gets the right roles, Gonzalez’s career is just going to keep going from strength to strength.
Overall, this is a film that has caused a surprising amount of discourse already, but in general it is a wickedly entertaining and slickly filmed movie that features one of the best casts of the year. It isn’t perfect, but it is thoroughly entertaining.
Rating = 4/5
Howe's World of Film and TV 