I Care A Lot Movie Review
A fast paced, but frustrating crime-drama
By Jude Jordi-Donnelly, film reporter
A fast paced, but frustrating crime-drama
By Jude Jordi-Donnelly, film reporter
It's difficult to explain my feelings towards director J Blakeson’s I Care A Lot. The film is about a legal guardian who utilizes very shady business tactics to take advantage of many elderly people. When she deploys these tactics on the wrong woman, things start to go south. If you look on the Rotten Tomatoes website, critics gave the movie a generally good score, however, audiences trashed it, which really speaks to how polarizing this movie is. Now, there is a lot to like in I Care A Lot, it's strange, it takes risks, and everyone in the movie does a fairly good job. However, this is a perfect example of why the main character in any movie or TV show needs to be someone the audience can get behind. If you’re someone watching I Care A Lot, pretty soon you understand that this movie will not provide such a character.
To start with the positives, this movie looks great. The cinematography is very good, the colors really pop off the screen, it's bright, and just very aesthetically pleasing. Rosemund Pike is amazing as the film's lead. There were a lot of physically demanding scenes and uncomfortable moments throughout the movie that she absolutely nails. She’s demanding, strong, smart, and is just really awesome in this role. Peter Dinkalage also plays his role really well, I would’ve liked to see a little more of him throughout the movie, however. The pacing is fast, the movie gets right along and doesn’t slow down often. The film is very original. It's premise is not something I’ve ever seen portrayed in movies or TV before, (I commend writer/director Blakeson for that),t's directed pretty well, and as far as the film's production as a whole, I can’t really complain. This film does have issues though, many of them. I will start with the biggest and most obvious one and that being the characters themselves. Like I said, the way they were played is never an issue throughout the movie, but there is not a single likable character during this film's entire one hour and fifty eight minute runtime. I mean that literally. Not one person, either a lead or a side character, would I say I would want to be friends with, hang out with, even talk to. Everyone in this movie is just a terrible person. The most unlikable is a toss up between our two leads, Pike and Dinklage. As someone watching the movie, there isn’t anyone to root for throughout the characters' conflict. When you’ve got no one to root for, ironically, you don’t really care at all about what ends up happening.
Other issues I have are, for one, the movie benefits from some hardcore movie logic, and at times doesn’t even try to be believable. Also, the main villain, who is played by Peter Dinkalage, is not very good either. Again, Dinklage does a very good job, but his character is very one note. His set up is really well done. The way Blakeson pits him up against Pike’s character is very interesting and not something I’ve seen before. But whenever he’s on the screen he’s usually just sitting, yelling at henchmen, and throwing things. He never feels very threatening despite having such a great conflict set up between himself and the film's lead. The film also has some contrasting themes and messages through its main character. She is a strong, powerful, confident, and smart character but because she is so unlikable, you can only appreciate what Pike brings to the role, rather than the character herself. Finally, without spoiling anything, there are major things the film does towards the end of the movie, and I understand that it's taking risks and I admire it for that, however the ‘payoff’ for the audience is nearly nonexistent. In the end, what the movie tries to do just feels gimmicky and predictable. I do think you should check this movie out despite its flaws. It has interesting ideas, but too many variables just aren’t executed well enough.
I Care A Lot gets a C
To start with the positives, this movie looks great. The cinematography is very good, the colors really pop off the screen, it's bright, and just very aesthetically pleasing. Rosemund Pike is amazing as the film's lead. There were a lot of physically demanding scenes and uncomfortable moments throughout the movie that she absolutely nails. She’s demanding, strong, smart, and is just really awesome in this role. Peter Dinkalage also plays his role really well, I would’ve liked to see a little more of him throughout the movie, however. The pacing is fast, the movie gets right along and doesn’t slow down often. The film is very original. It's premise is not something I’ve ever seen portrayed in movies or TV before, (I commend writer/director Blakeson for that),t's directed pretty well, and as far as the film's production as a whole, I can’t really complain. This film does have issues though, many of them. I will start with the biggest and most obvious one and that being the characters themselves. Like I said, the way they were played is never an issue throughout the movie, but there is not a single likable character during this film's entire one hour and fifty eight minute runtime. I mean that literally. Not one person, either a lead or a side character, would I say I would want to be friends with, hang out with, even talk to. Everyone in this movie is just a terrible person. The most unlikable is a toss up between our two leads, Pike and Dinklage. As someone watching the movie, there isn’t anyone to root for throughout the characters' conflict. When you’ve got no one to root for, ironically, you don’t really care at all about what ends up happening.
Other issues I have are, for one, the movie benefits from some hardcore movie logic, and at times doesn’t even try to be believable. Also, the main villain, who is played by Peter Dinkalage, is not very good either. Again, Dinklage does a very good job, but his character is very one note. His set up is really well done. The way Blakeson pits him up against Pike’s character is very interesting and not something I’ve seen before. But whenever he’s on the screen he’s usually just sitting, yelling at henchmen, and throwing things. He never feels very threatening despite having such a great conflict set up between himself and the film's lead. The film also has some contrasting themes and messages through its main character. She is a strong, powerful, confident, and smart character but because she is so unlikable, you can only appreciate what Pike brings to the role, rather than the character herself. Finally, without spoiling anything, there are major things the film does towards the end of the movie, and I understand that it's taking risks and I admire it for that, however the ‘payoff’ for the audience is nearly nonexistent. In the end, what the movie tries to do just feels gimmicky and predictable. I do think you should check this movie out despite its flaws. It has interesting ideas, but too many variables just aren’t executed well enough.
I Care A Lot gets a C