I Care a Lot (2020)

I Care a Lot is a 2020 American dark comedy thriller film written and directed by J Blakeson. The film stars Rosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage, Eiza González, Chris Messina, and Dianne Wiest.

I Care a Lot had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2020, and was released via streaming in most countries on February 19, 2021, through Netflix and Prime Video depending on the region.

I Care a Lot received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for Pike's performance. Pike was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.

Marla Grayson is a con woman who makes her living by convincing a judge to appoint her guardianship over elders living on their own, under the guise that they cannot take care of themselves. Marla then places the elders in an assisted living facility and cuts off all contact to the outside world, selling their homes and assets for her own profit.

Marla receives a tip from Dr. Karen Amos, with whom she has an arrangement. Dr. Amos informs her about a wealthy elder they can exploit: Jennifer Peterson, a single retiree with no family. Dr. Amos accompanies Marla to court and falsely testifies that Jennifer is unable to care for herself, and the judge appoints Marla as her guardian. Marla then moves her into the assisted living facility and discovers valuable diamonds in Jennifer’s safety deposit box.

Unbeknownst to Marla, Jennifer is the mother of a former Russian mob boss, Roman Lunyov, who sends his men to look into her condition. When they discover the ruse, they send a lawyer to Marla, who offers to pay her to release her guardianship. Marla refuses and the lawyer threatens her well-being. He takes her to court and attempts to convince the judge of Marla’s ruse, but he refuses to disclose his clients so the judge dismisses his case. When Marla questions Jennifer about the lawyer, Jennifer realizes what’s happening and tells Marla she’s in danger.

Roman sends three henchmen to infiltrate the facility and find Jennifer; they nearly escape after killing a guard, but they are apprehended by police. Marla connects the dots from the captured henchmen back to Roman and realizes who Jennifer really is. She also sees a news report about the suspicious death of Dr. Amos. Marla’s girlfriend Fran tries to convince Marla that they should skip town, but Marla declines. She commits Jennifer to a psychiatric ward as retribution.

Marla is later drugged and kidnapped in a parking garage, while henchmen also break into her apartment and beat Fran. Marla awakens in the middle of nowhere, where Roman demands his mother’s release and the location of the diamonds she stole. Unfazed by his threats, Marla refuses unless he pays her $10 million; Roman orders his men to kill her. They drug her and put her in a car, crashing it into a lake. Marla awakens and frees herself. She returns home and finds Fran unconscious as gas fills their house; she revives Fran and gets them out before it explodes.

Fran again insists that they skip town, but Marla instead convinces her to help track down Roman using a license plate number she memorized from their meeting. She tracks down and subdues Roman's driver in a parking garage, then drugs and kidnaps Roman when he arrives. She and Fran take Roman out into the wilderness and leave him naked on a trail, where he is discovered hours later by a jogger. Unable to establish his identity, a judge designates Roman as a “John Doe” and appoints him a legal guardian – Marla.

Marla visits Roman and explains everything to him, again offering to release him and Jennifer for $10 million. Instead Roman, impressed by her skills, offers her a partnership in building a global business based around her guardianship ploy. She accepts, and using his money and connections she becomes a powerful business leader as CEO of the company. However, while leaving a TV interview she is shot by Mr. Feldstrom, whose mother died while he was unable to visit her; Marla dies in Fran’s arms.