The Grifters got the wrong Grandma in

I CARE ALOT

by Kathia Woods

Jonathan Blakeson casts a fantastic cast to play terrible people in the pitch-black comedy thriller I Care a Lot, a scathing satire of capitalist greed that remains riveting despite the ridiculous turns it eventually takes.

Rosamund Pike plays the cunning Marla Grayson, a sociopath you will be actively rooting against throughout the film. Marla, as the film quickly reveals, is a con artist. The self-proclaimed lioness attacks senior citizens with the assistance of several accomplices. She places her wards in an assisted living facility after becoming their guardian and claiming that they are unable to care for themselves, cutting them off from their loved ones and stealing their savings.

Her scheme, however, goes horribly wrong when she pursues Jennifer Peterson (Dianne Wiest), a retired woman with no family. She has no idea that her newest mark isn't who she appears to be. Her deception puts the protagonist in the sights of Peter Dinklage's Roman Lunyov, a dangerous mobster who quickly figures out Marla's scheme.

Marla, never one to back down from a fight, immediately tries to exploit her situation, and it is at this point that the writing begins to deteriorate. The premise is intriguing, and the setup is fantastic, but how things unfold from here on out is distractingly implausible. The second half of the film is plagued by several unbelievable developments, as well as some time span discrepancies and inconsistencies in how the characters behave.

Nonetheless, you can't help but be engrossed by this thriller, which is largely due to the excellent cast. From start to finish, Pike impresses with a feverish lead showing shades of insanity; this is the kind of role the actress truly excels in. Dinklage is also excellent in his role, as is Wiest, though you may wish she was more involved in the second half of the film.

Despite some of the derailment, Blakeson creates intriguingly despicable characters and places them in an intriguing setting – the world he has designed works well visually – but he could have made the story much stronger while maintaining the adrenaline. Ultimately, while some of its plot points may fall flat, I Care a Lot is likely to keep your attention for its two-hour run time and captivate you with the acting of its wonderful cast. We want the bad woman to pay for her sins, so we can't help but look much, like a car crash.