I Care A Lot (2021)

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

A shady legal guardian lands in hot water when she tries to bilk a woman who has ties to a powerful gangster.

Trailer:

Release date: 2/19/21

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Golden Globe nomination!

BEST ACTRESS – MUSICAL OR COMEDY - Rosamund Pike

[Cranberry]

That trailer isn't available in Canada... here's one that works for us:

It's only available on Netflix in some countries; Prime Video got the rights in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

I'm excited for this! Reviews so far are really good.

‘I Care a Lot’ Review: Rosamund Pike and Peter Dinklage Are Riveting in a Scam-Artist Thriller That Won’t Let Go

I Care a Lot review – Rosamund Pike vamps and vapes in delicious thriller

I Care a Lot Review: Rosamund Pike and Peter Dinklage Spar in Wicked Satire

[Cotypubby]

I hated hated this movie. I wanted to turn it off after the first ten minutes, decided to stick with it because it had positive reviews. I wish I hadn’t wasted those 2 hours. The only good part of the film was

Spoiler

the last 30 seconds. Even that wasn’t worth putting up with the rest. From the first moment the film started the only way it would be watchable would be if it ended with her being tortured to death. I wanted her to go out in the worst way possible. I kept expecting that the ending would be Peter Dinklage having her incapacitated so that she would end up in a care facility. Instead we get “sociopathic cunt wins and does well for herself and gets everything she always wanted.”

And WTF is she doing in the “Musical/Comedy” category!?? There is nothing funny about this film whatsoever! It’s not a black comedy, there is no comedy! There is not a single moment of humor or levity at all. It’s as much a comedy as “Promising Young Woman.”

Edited February 21, 2021 by Cotypubby

[Spartan Girl]

I agree that the ending was the best part. I was so pissed when I thought she was going to get away with everything, but karma had its say.

Rosamund Pike excels at playing sociopaths.

[Cranberry]

Speaking of karma, most people I've seen talking about this movie seem pleased that Marla got what's coming to her, but what about the literal murderer/human trafficker getting off scot-free, and in fact getting richer? Nobody seems outraged over that, which is interesting.

I thought everyone in this movie was a horrible person, but I still enjoyed watching them. (I also wanted so many of the clothes, although I'd break an ankle if I tried to take one step in those heels.) I somehow rooted for everyone while also wanting them to get what was coming to them, which they mostly did. I'm also glad that while there was violence, none of it was sexual.

[Spartan Girl]

27 minutes ago, Cranberry said:

People I've seen talking about this movie seem pleased that Marla got what's coming to her, but what about the literal murderer/human trafficker getting off scot-free, and in fact getting richer? Nobody seems outraged over that, which is interesting

I was mad about that, believe me. But like you said everybody in this movie was the worst.

Edited February 22, 2021 by Spartan Girl

[Razzberry]

I found it well done, highly entertaining and right up my dark alley.  There's no one to root for save the victims avengers, but it's the very definition of black comedy.
 
Chicago Sun-Times summed it up nicely -
"It’s as if Quentin Tarantino blew the dust off an old script that was intended for Alfred Hitchcock and gave it a 21st century rewrite, complete with some fantastically entertaining late twists and turns."

[Cotypubby]

1 hour ago, Razzberry said:

it's the very definition of black comedy.

But where is the comedy part? I’ve seen many black comedies, I don’t see how this fits that label at all. I did not see anything satirical or humorous in it. This film did nothing but make me feel angry.

[Razzberry]

4 hours ago, Cotypubby said:

But where is the comedy part? I’ve seen many black comedies, I don’t see how this fits that label at all. I did not see anything satirical or humorous in it. This film did nothing but make me feel angry.

I can understand why the film makes people angry.  Dark comedy can turn people off because the core subject matter is disturbing and uncomfortable.  Death, disease, etc.

When my dad got dementia I saw how many scumbags come out of nowhere to take advantage of it. He came close to giving away his life savings to a con artist who had accompanied him to the bank.  If it wasn't for a sharp bank official who knew my dad and smelled a rat, he would have been penniless. And these were people who supposedly had been vetted by AARP! I won't even get into the various home health care workers but it was a nightmare.  

A scam such as the movie depicted would require many people working together and is not very likely, but I suppose it could happen. If nothing else I hope it shines a light on elder abuse.

[JessePinkman]

Ah so this is what Amazing Amy has been up to. It tracks.

8 hours ago, Razzberry said:

I can understand why the film makes people angry.  Dark comedy can turn people off because the core subject matter is disturbing and uncomfortable.  Death, disease, etc.

But again, where was the humor? I found the movie entertaining but none of it made me laugh. And I can laugh at dark topics. The most humorous part was how little Marla cared about her mother or her own death.

I was glad that Fran didn't die in order to further the plot (thanks for avoiding both fridging and the dead lesbian trope (until the end I suppose)). Speaking of Fran, she's going to be a very wealthy widow, good job securing the bag. 

I was actually more into the movie when I thought Dianne Weist's Jennifer was going to be the first person able to go toe-to-toe with Marla. I wanted to see her meet her equal in this senior citizen. But most movies/TV shows tend to lose me when they introduce the mafia and guns. 

 

[Razzberry]

1 hour ago, JessePinkman said:

But again, where was the humor?

I've asked the same thing when I see a Will Ferrell film, for example, and have yet to receive a satisfactory reply.  

This explains it better than I can -  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_comedy

Edited February 22, 2021 by Razzberry

[susannot]

2 hours ago, JessePinkman said:

I was actually more into the movie when I thought Dianne Weist's Jennifer was going to be the first person able to go toe-to-toe with Marla. I wanted to see her meet her equal in this senior citizen. But most movies/TV shows tend to lose me when they introduce the mafia and guns. 

 

EXACTLY!! Rosamond Pike was excellent but the movie was disappointing.  It would have been so much better if Dianne's character had out-conned the con artist.  In a few scenes I thought that might happen, but no, we had to go the mob violence route.

[festivus]

I've been reading along in this topic and I have no desire to watch this movie. It doesn't sound like black comedy which is a genre I love. War of the Roses is what I think of as black comedy.

[Mabinogia]

2 hours ago, susannot said:

It would have been so much better if Dianne's character had out-conned the con artist.

I thought that was what it was going to be and was considering watching. Knowing that is not what the movie is, that it's basically a "who is worse, gangsters or people who prey on the elderly" I'm going to hard pass despite my love of Rosamund Pike and Dianne Wiest. 

The past few years IRL have been bleak enough to make me not want to watch a bunch of shitty people being shitty. 

[backhometome]

This movie was so maddening!!!!!!. The last 30 seconds wasn't worth it. 

I hated Marla. Fuck her for profiting/taking advantage of old sick people. 

Its really depressing thinking about people being so awful to old defenseless people. And the fact that so many heath care professionals were going along with it just made it more sick.

With what's going on in retirement homes right now I wish I never watched this movie.

Rosamund Pike is good at play a sociopath but her voice over just reminded me of gone girl too much. 

[Razzberry]

Most viewers don't like it - scoring just 35% on Rotten Tomatoes with audience members and 6.3/10 on IMDB 

[AimingforYoko]

I was actually marveling at the fact they were letting a character as thoroughly unlikable (I mean, she vapes *chef's kiss*) as Marla win. Most people were rooting for the amoral, homicidal Russian gangster. I thought having the schlub from the opening exact revenge was kind of a copout.

[Cranberry]

2 hours ago, Razzberry said:

Most viewers don't like it - scoring just 35% on Rotten Tomatoes with audience members and 6.3/10 on IMDB 

I will point out that there's an ongoing campaign among incels and homophobes to review bomb this movie for being "feminist, LGBT propaganda." 

[Ambrosefolly]

40 minutes ago, Cranberry said:

I will point out that there's an ongoing campaign among incels and homophobes to review bomb this movie for being "feminist, LGBT propaganda." 

Really, because a movie where the lesbian is gunned down at the end by someone that looks like an incel/homophobe (and admit, she deserved it) would be well received by them. 

[Accidental Martyr]

1 hour ago, Cranberry said:

I will point out that there's an ongoing campaign among incels and homophobes to review bomb this movie for being "feminist, LGBT propaganda." 

Ahh, that must be the explanation for the multiple one star reviews on IMDb.

Edited February 23, 2021 by Accidental Martyr

[GodsBeloved]

10 hours ago, AimingforYoko said:

I was actually marveling at the fact they were letting a character as thoroughly unlikable (I mean, she vapes *chef's kiss*) as Marla win. Most people were rooting for the amoral, homicidal Russian gangster. 

I was hoping Tyrion would get his too. I wanted Marla, the gangster and Marla's accomplice stopped. Very disappointing that only one of them was put down.

[GreekGeek]

17 hours ago, Cranberry said:

I will point out that there's an ongoing campaign among incels and homophobes to review bomb this movie for being "feminist, LGBT propaganda." 

 

17 hours ago, Ambrosefolly said:

Really, because a movie where the lesbian is gunned down at the end by someone that looks like an incel/homophobe (and admit, she deserved it) would be well received by them. 

I don't see how it could be considered "feminist LGBT propaganda," unless they mean the notion that a lesbian feminist can be just as vicious and amoral as a heterosexual man.

I would consider this to be half of a good movie. The parts dealing with Marla's scam were interesting, and I was really hoping for more of Dianne Wiest. It was disappointing that she was all but forgotten halfway through. I thought all the botched killings pushed the film into absurdity. Perhaps that was why it was classified as a comedy?

Pike was good in the role, but she was a bit too obviously a shark. I wondered if a more "motherly" actress would have made Marla's "I care so much" act more convincing. And wouldn't the judge be suspicious if it was always the same doctor pronouncing the elders mentally incompetent?

[Razzberry]

I never bother reading one-star reviews. Typically they're one or two lines, something like "This movie SUCKS!!!. Worst movie ever!!!"  But looking at IMDB's latest crop out of curiosity,  what stands out is that so many of these objective and insightful reviews have actually been rated "helpful" by hundreds of readers.  Kind of funny.

[Cranberry]

Review-bombing is so obvious it's funny... a bunch of one-star or half-star reviews (as low as they can possibly be), usually with a short description that either doesn't say anything substantial about the plot, or makes it clear the reviewer didn't actually watch the movie. At this point I ignore audience reviews entirely on sites like RT or IMDB (especially for any women-led or otherwise "progressive" films). I follow some trusted people on Letterboxd, so I use them, the regular critic reviews, and the trailer(s) to decide whether something sounds up my alley.

I think a lot of people misinterpreted this movie. I'm definitely not saying, "If you hated it, you just didn't understand it" -- people can understand something and still hate it! But I'm seeing so many bad takes along the lines of, "I hate this girlboss feminist propaganda" or, "Ugh, this is Bury Your Gays," and... no. Whether or not you think it was done well, this movie was a critique of capitalism. And Bury Your Gays is about treating LGBT characters as expendable, or punishing them for their sexuality. That doesn't apply here at all.

[Nordly Beaumont]

Hated it. 

14 hours ago, GreekGeek said:

I thought all the botched killings pushed the film into absurdity.

The scene where she escapes the car and swims to the surface then goes to the store dripping water seemed like such a rip off of Kill Bill when the bride bursts through the earth and goes to the restaurant "dripping" dust. But we not only had reason to root for the bride in Kill Bill, the movie was set up so we also had reason to believe that the bride could actually survive the things she survived. Marla was recently drugged, crashed full impact into the water, kicked out a car window underwater, all while holding her breath for over a full minute. Come on!

Why would a mafia gangster (with zero ties to Marla) care about making it "look organic"?

Why would a mafia gangster track down and use Marla's mother to threaten her - but not her girlfriend? Especially when his goons were with her at that very moment. He doesn't even mention her?

After two full (long!) hours there needed to be a much better ending than an easy death for Marla and thousands of the elderly still being scammed. 

On 2/22/2021 at 11:17 AM, JessePinkman said:

I was actually more into the movie when I thought Dianne Weist's Jennifer was going to be the first person able to go toe-to-toe with Marla. I wanted to see her meet her equal in this senior citizen.

That's what I wanted too. When Jennifer tells Marla "I'm the worst mistake you ever made" - I wanted to see that.

I feel like there was a good movie in there somewhere. This just wasn't it.

[benteen]

Marla is a detestable character.  I was glad that it ended up with her getting killed but she got off easy.  She was a monster who trapped what looked like thousands of seniors in her web.  It would have been more fitting for her to have found herself in the position she put many of them, at the mercy of a guardian who cares as little for those seniors as she did.

Not to mention the fact that there's no way she would have been able to pull of a scheme that large.  It might work if she was only doing it to a handful of seniors or one or two "cherrys."  But she was juggling about fifty seniors at the beginning of the movie and by the end of the movie it's like thousands.  You would have had more than just one disgruntled relative coming out to her.  A lot of relatives would have confronted her and that would have brought so much attention to what she was doing and her house of cards (which is what it was) would have collapsed easily.

Then you have the logic gaps.  She keeps giving the same scam to the same gullible judge, who takes her word for it every time.  Peter Dinklage plays a brutally efficent Russian mob boss until the story says he isn't.  It's possible the car drowning might, MIGHT not go off successfully but how the hell did his two goons botch killing Marla's girlfriend?

Marla is a character we know little about.  She hates his mother, that's about it.  She spews a lot of crap about being a "lioness" but when someone decides to make "the game" a lot more deadly, she complains that he's not playing by the rules.  Like she was?  I read that apparently that Marla's vape smoking has to do with a vape shop she ran that went out of business after getting screwed over by the big guys or something.  That's great...would it have hurt the filmmakers to have even hinted at this at all during the film?  Marla is just a blank slate of a character who hates her mom in the end.

I've seen some comparisons to Promising Young Woman.  That was a better film and at least I had a much better idea about that character's motivations.

That being said, I Care A Lot did hold my attention throughout.  Rosamund Pike and Peter Dinklage were both very good but the real highlight was Dianne Wiest.  She's the best thing about the movie and I think the story would have been a lot better if more time had been spent on her.  It would have been much more satisfying to see her as the one who got the better of Marla at the end. 

 

55 minutes ago, Nordly Beaumont said:

 

That's what I wanted too. When Jennifer tells Marla "I'm the worst mistake you ever made" - I wanted to see that.

Yes.  That would have been a more interesting and logical story development.  Marla running into an opponent like that.

Edited February 24, 2021 by benteen

[Sheenieb]

Quote

I was actually more into the movie when I thought Dianne Weist's Jennifer was going to be the first person able to go toe-to-toe with Marla. I wanted to see her meet her equal in this senior citizen. But most movies/TV shows tend to lose me when they introduce the mafia and guns. 

Yes, I agree that that's how I thought it was going to go down. I was hoping that Dianne Wiest would go scorched earth. I was expecting it to go the Don't Breathe route. That was also a movie about thieves thinking that they found an easy mark, but it didn't end well for them.

I was entertained by this, and Rosamund Pike does icy sociopath well, but I expected more. I was mad when she got away with everything, but I also have to think about why that is. Of course, she should get her comeuppance because she's trash, but then I think about other movies with similar endings, and it doesn't bother me as much. Like The Talented Mr. Ripley, Arbitrage, and The Occupant. 

[JessePinkman]

4 hours ago, Nordly Beaumont said:

Why would a mafia gangster (with zero ties to Marla) care about making it "look organic"?

Why would a mafia gangster track down and use Marla's mother to threaten her - but not her girlfriend? Especially when his goons were with her at that very moment. He doesn't even mention her?

I thought about that too. They had no problem murdering a doctor but Marla's death needed to look accidental?

And I don't understand what the mafia guys were trying to accomplish by Fran's death look accidental either. You're mafia, you make people disappear all the time.

[Avaleigh]

6 hours ago, Nordly Beaumont said:

Hated it. 

The scene where she escapes the car and swims to the surface then goes to the store dripping water seemed like such a rip off of Kill Bill when the bride bursts through the earth and goes to the restaurant "dripping" dust. But we not only had reason to root for the bride in Kill Bill, the movie was set up so we also had reason to believe that the bride could actually survive the things she survived. Marla was recently drugged, crashed full impact into the water, kicked out a car window underwater, all while holding her breath for over a full minute. Come on!

Why would a mafia gangster (with zero ties to Marla) care about making it "look organic"?

Why would a mafia gangster track down and use Marla's mother to threaten her - but not her girlfriend? Especially when his goons were with her at that very moment. He doesn't even mention her?

After two full (long!) hours there needed to be a much better ending than an easy death for Marla and thousands of the elderly still being scammed. 

That's what I wanted too. When Jennifer tells Marla "I'm the worst mistake you ever made" - I wanted to see that.

I feel like there was a good movie in there somewhere. This just wasn't it.

I didn't 100% hate the movie but I agree with all of this post. This had the potential to be a really good movie and it was totally disappointing (and ridiculously unrealistic.)

Yeah, I think I mentally checked out during the underwater car escape. It was so stupid and I felt like they wanted the audience to root for her or something during that scene and it's like hell no! Not rooting for this evil woman so that she can survive to ruin the lives of more people. 

On top of that they have the Russian mafia botch two hits--this is shit they're supposed to be good at! Also, they threaten Marla with her mother but don't consider to maybe threaten to kill the girlfriend in front of Marla? It was too stupid to be believed. 

I also didn't really love the writing for Dinklage's character. Always throwing things and losing his temper. He came across and immature and not very boss like.

The most disappointing thing was not having Dianne Wiest's character out con Marla. I was totally sure that Marla would indeed end up living to regret ever fucking with this old woman that she saw as an easy mark. Instead it ends up leading her to a place where her con is enlarged and legitimized and Dianne never gets her revenge. It's so unsatisfying. 

5 hours ago, benteen said:

Marla is a detestable character.  I was glad that it ended up with her getting killed but she got off easy.  She was a monster who trapped what looked like thousands of seniors in her web. It would have been more fitting for her to have found herself in the position she put many of them, at the mercy of a guardian who cares as little for those seniors as she did.

This would have been perfect to me. For her to be stripped of her power, money and independence and have to endure what she put all of those seniors through. Have the Dianne Wiest character visit her while Marla is helpless and medicated but still able to listen and reflect as Wiest's character gives a little speech about how she fucked with the wrong person.

Good point too about the nonsense Marla spouts when she tells Dinklage that he didn't play by the rules and that he should have "beat her in court". She wasn't playing by the rules either but somehow she expects everyone else to play by them. Again, I got the impression that the filmmakers wanted us to root for her in a moment like that and my automatic reaction was 'no, absolutely not'.

Not only was Marla's death unsatisfying but the girlfriend gets to live and be rich and she was just as much of a scumbag as Marla. 

All these complaints aside, Rosamund Pike, Dianne Wiest, and the entire cast were great. I have no problem with Pike scoring a nomination for her role because she definitely sold it. 

[Razzberry]

4 hours ago, Avaleigh said:

On top of that they have the Russian mafia botch two hits--this is shit they're supposed to be good at!

I think they're only invincible in the movies.  Even Putin's goons couldn't assassinate targets in England with chemical weapons without botching the job and getting caught. Twice.  So this wasn't unbelievable to me. 

I agree that Marla getting one clean shot in the heart was way too easy.  She didn't suffer enough!

[Milburn Stone]

We really liked the movie.

The only thing I didn't buy was that Chris Messina would don such a shyster-looking suit for his day in court. If you're there (supposedly) to stand up for an innocent old lady, does it really further your cause to look like a Mafia lawyer? He wasn't that stupid.

[pancake bacon]

This movie could've ended five minutes in, if the Dinklange's people offered more than just shares of a retirement home to Dr Karen. That USD 250K would have her changing her dementia diagnosis, and releasing Dianne Wiest from guardianship. It's a miracle recovery! 

And as much there were some pleasure to be had in Pike and Dinklage going to toe to toe, it would have been more kick-ass if Dianne Wiest manage to work the comeuppance herself. Dianne Wiest would be blast, plus bringing fresh light that you could still be #girlboss even in at "retirement" age. 

Otherwise I feel the same as other posters have shared: I was not liking the bitter taste that Pike was getting away with it all, and was worried that we would have to live such a cynical ending… but a character from the start of the movie paying off at the end gave me some relief. 

[Milburn Stone]

On 2/25/2021 at 9:53 AM, pancake bacon said:

...a character from the start of the movie paying off at the end gave me some relief. 

I agree. I didn't feel he was "deus ex machina" at all. His reappearance was absolutely motivated by the storytelling. He as much as told us at the beginning that he would do this! It's not his fault that so much happened in between that we forgot about him. :) Clever to bring him back (knowing we would forget about him), and it gave the drama a satisfying symmetry.

[EtheltoTillie]

On 2/26/2021 at 12:03 PM, Milburn Stone said:

I agree. I didn't feel he was "deus ex machina" at all. His reappearance was absolutely motivated by the storytelling. He as much as told us at the beginning that he would do this! It's not his fault that so much happened in between that we forgot about him. 🙂 Clever to bring him back (knowing we would forget about him), and it gave the drama a satisfying symmetry.

I didn’t forget him. I actually thought the bearded guy in the convenience store was him and he was going to recognize her and do something then. 

On 2/24/2021 at 9:18 AM, benteen said:

.

Not to mention the fact that there's no way she would have been able to pull of a scheme that large.  It might work if she was only doing it to a handful of seniors or one or two "cherrys."  But she was juggling about fifty seniors at the beginning of the movie and by the end of the movie it's like thousands.  You would have had more than just one disgruntled relative coming out to her.  A lot of relatives would have confronted her and that would have brought so much attention to what she was doing and her house of cards (which is what it was) would have collapsed easily.

Crossover opportunity:  have Saul Goodman sue them.

[Enero]

On 2/22/2021 at 8:35 PM, backhometome said:

This movie was so maddening!!!!!!. The last 30 seconds wasn't worth it. 

I hated Marla. Fuck her for profiting/taking advantage of old sick people. 

Its really depressing thinking about people being so awful to old defenseless people. And the fact that so many heath care professionals were going along with it just made it more sick.

With what's going on in retirement homes right now I wish I never watched this movie.

 

Agreed. I was sorry I wasted the hour and a half on this train wreck. This started off with a lot of potential but quickly nosedived into absurdity. 
 

Quote

Rosamund Pike is good at play a sociopath but her voice over just reminded me of gone girl too much. 

Unpopular opinion but I’ve never been impressed by Ms. Pike’s acting. She’s been the same character in almost everything I’ve seen her in and is one note at best with her acting. 

[Avabelle]

I enjoyed this. I was confident that Marla would get her comeuppance in the end so was able to enjoy the ride. Alas said upthread, Rosalind Pike excels at playing sociopaths. She was brilliant here. Also love seeing Peter Dinklage on my screen.

[Racj82]

On 2/21/2021 at 7:11 PM, Cranberry said:

Speaking of karma, most people I've seen talking about this movie seem pleased that Marla got what's coming to her, but what about the literal murderer/human trafficker getting off scot-free, and in fact getting richer? Nobody seems outraged over that, which is interesting.

I thought everyone in this movie was a horrible person, but I still enjoyed watching them. (I also wanted so many of the clothes, although I'd break an ankle if I tried to take one step in those heels.) I somehow rooted for everyone while also wanting them to get what was coming to them, which they mostly did. I'm also glad that while there was violence, none of it was sexual.

I think the difference is Dinklages' character was just a bad a guy. He knew he was. Didn't mix words. And was just worried about getting his mom back.

The character Pike plays keeps talking as if she's some sort of feminist hero. How many men tried to do her wrong. How underestimated she is. All the way to the end carrying the facade that she cares. More worried about winning than anything else. She has so many visceral characteristics of a hateable character while running around acting like she's a bad bitch getting what's due to her. 

Edited March 1, 2021 by Racj82

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Golden Globe Award!

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy: Rosamund Pike

[benteen]

Rosamund Pike was very good in I Care A Lot but again, where was the comedy?

[Razzberry]

Yay!  Well done.

[Razzberry]

9 hours ago, benteen said:

Rosamund Pike was very good in I Care A Lot but again, where was the comedy?

Not everyone will like every dark comedy or find them equally funny, if at all.  A few that critics just love (Brazil, Trainspotting, for ex.) wouldn't make my Top 50 list.

[NUguy514]

Yeah, I just watched this:

On 2/22/2021 at 10:58 AM, Razzberry said:

I've asked the same thing when I see a Will Ferrell film, for example, and have yet to receive a satisfactory reply.  

This explains it better than I can -  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_comedy

2 hours ago, Razzberry said:

Not everyone will like every dark comedy or find them equally funny, if at all.  A few that critics just love (Brazil, Trainspotting, for ex.) wouldn't make my Top 50 list.

I agree about Ferrell, but no one here seems confused by what defines a black comedy.  What they're saying is that this particular movie is not a black comedy because there is no humor, black or otherwise, to be found in it.  Fargo is a black comedy.  Parasite is a black comedy.  Heathers is a black comedy.  I Care a Lot is not.  Shitty people being shitty isn't funny in and of itself, and that's basically what this movie was, with a healthy dose of moronic plot contrivances.  Frankly, Pike's win in the Musical/Comedy category is about a thousand times funnier than anything in the movie itself.

[lynxfx]

The way I want to interpret it is that she actually drowned in that lake. They show her swimming up but the way they shot it seemed to have her sinking at the same time. So everything after that was her fantasy as she drowned. Saving her girlfriend. Fixing a tooth. Killing the henchmen. Making a deal and becoming filthy rich. All happened in the blink of an eye. Getting shot was her conscience catching up with her as she died. 

Doesn't really change much other than the hope that no one really created a major corporation to scam seniors. Dinklage's character of course gets no comeuppance in either interpretation. Just a movie filled with horrible people. 

Maybe it could be reedited into a short film? The opening court scene immediately followed by the last scene. Boom!  Perfect 👌   

[Razzberry]

12 hours ago, NUguy514 said:

Yeah, I just watched this:

I agree about Ferrell, but no one here seems confused by what defines a black comedy.  What they're saying is that this particular movie is not a black comedy because there is no humor, black or otherwise, to be found in it.  Fargo is a black comedy.  Parasite is a black comedy.  Heathers is a black comedy.  I Care a Lot is not.  Shitty people being shitty isn't funny in and of itself, and that's basically what this movie was, with a healthy dose of moronic plot contrivances.  Frankly, Pike's win in the Musical/Comedy category is about a thousand times funnier than anything in the movie itself.

Hmm. It's certainly polarizing.  I have no problem with people hating it or not thinking it's funny, but even in the most critical reviews ("I Care a Lot is a mean-spirited and unfunny black comedy. What a vile film."), or among Pike's rival nominees, I'm not aware of any controversy about its correct designated genre.  That's all I'm saying.

Edited March 2, 2021 by Razzberry

[Milburn Stone]

On 2/27/2021 at 4:38 PM, Enero said:

Unpopular opinion but I’ve never been impressed by Ms. Pike’s acting. She’s been the same character in almost everything I’ve seen her in and is one note at best with her acting. 

I don't know how unpopular your opinion is, or how popular mine is, but I worship at her feet.

[kiddo82]

I had to turn this off about half way through.  I found it really unlikely that a scheme with the scope of Marla's would have been possible to pull off.  The sheer number of people who would have had to be involved alone makes it pretty fantastical.  Then you add in the Russian mafia and I was like "I could be rewatching Wandavision instead." (which is obviously never fantastical and totally based in reality) I also agree with the poster upthread who said that Pike was almost too cold.  I hadn't thought about it but it makes a ton of sense.  There should have been a point in the movie where I almost forgot I hated her.  I never got the sense that she could really charm a well intentioned nurse or family member away from any suspicions.   (In fact, from reading about the ending, we saw the exact opposite.)  And again, with a con that big and for that long someone was bound to at least ask questions.  Not sure if that's on her or the direction.  I agree that the better movie would have a been a well researched take on elder financial abuse and having Pike's and Wiest's characters go toe to toe.  

Edited March 3, 2021 by kiddo82

[Rickster]

On 2/24/2021 at 9:18 AM, benteen said:

 

Not to mention the fact that there's no way she would have been able to pull of a scheme that large.  It might work if she was only doing it to a handful of seniors or one or two "cherrys."  But she was juggling about fifty seniors at the beginning of the movie and by the end of the movie it's like thousands.  You would have had more than just one disgruntled relative coming out to her.  A lot of relatives would have confronted her and that would have brought so much attention to what she was doing and her house of cards (which is what it was) would have collapsed easily.

 

By the end of the movie, it look like they're running a big publicly traded corporation, so it's not like she's still doing exactly the same scam all by herself.

On 2/24/2021 at 12:33 PM, JessePinkman said:

I thought about that too. They had no problem murdering a doctor but Marla's death needed to look accidental?

And I don't understand what the mafia guys were trying to accomplish by Fran's death look accidental either. You're mafia, you make people disappear all the time.

Pretty sure when Pike sees the news report on the doctor, the report said the death was an apparent suicide. I do agree it was odd they didn't try to use Fran as leverage, as well as the mother.

This movie required a large suspension of disbelief, which is maybe why they called it a black comedy. That said, my own particular nitpick peeves were:

I thought that Wiest had a weekly cab ride to see her son. So we went from doctor identifying the "cherry", to having her admitted and the house sold and contents auctioned in a week?

So Pike tracks down the driver and follows him to the son's apartment building. She's immediately ready with a scheme involving wigs, disguises and tasers to kidnap him right away and it goes like clockwork? (I won't mention how it's dark when she starts following the driver, business hours when she gets to the building, and dark again when she dumps the son's body).

I agree that someone constructed a really interesting premise for a movie, but didn't know how to resolve it effectively after Dinklage and Pike actually meet . I also thought the ending was a copout. I'd be curious if the original ending had Pike and Dinklage getting away with the scheme, but some exec thought audiences would be appalled so they tacked on a new ending. 

 

Edited March 3, 2021 by Rickster

[Razzberry]

I love that this film is shedding light on abuse of the elderly by these guardians/predators. There was one with hundreds of victims just like the movie.  It happens all over and more often than I thought.  The screenwriter probably didn't have Dianne Weist triumphing over her guardian because sadly they're as vulnerable as little children.          
https://stopguardianabuse.org/

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/court-appointed-guardian-system-failing-elderly_n_59d3f70be4b06226e3f44d4e

[Rickster]

3 hours ago, Razzberry said:

I love that this film is shedding light on abuse of the elderly by these guardians/predators. There was one with hundreds of victims just like the movie.  It happens all over and more often than I thought.  The screenwriter probably didn't have Dianne Weist triumphing over her guardian because sadly they're as vulnerable as little children.          
https://stopguardianabuse.org/

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/court-appointed-guardian-system-failing-elderly_n_59d3f70be4b06226e3f44d4e

I think whether people see this as a “comedy”, may depend on how close they may be to elderly friends or relatives who could be in this situation. For some of us it hits too close to home.