I Care A Lot

Thrillers regarding scammers can be fascinating to check out but only if the important ingredients to them are handled well. What helps them succeed is making characters audiences can find intriguing based on their personalities, the antics involved would need to be engaging, and the storyline would need to work based off of the character motivations. Recent examples of those that accomplish this would be Good Time (2017) and Uncut Gems (2019) for those reasons. This brings us to a new entry within this group, I Care A Lot, which was written and directed by J Blakeson (The Descent 2, The 5th Wave). There wasn't much marketing for it, but it was mentioned in a few awards considerations for the main actress performance. I watched it on Netflix hoping to improve my 2021 luck but, after finishing it, ended up being underwhelmed by this style over substance approach.

What's it about? The story follows a corrupt legal guardian whose defrauding actions are threatened when she comes across someone with connections to a crime lord. The production value with this premise is pretty fascinating to look at between some camera work and cool electronic music that accompanies it. It's definitely aiming for a stylistic approach with its presentation.

As far as the writing is concerned, however, it ends up being the biggest problem from this premise realizing its own potential. None of the characters are likable and the main protagonist doesn't have anything endearing or interesting to latch onto for investment. The dialogue is incredibly bland and lackluster in aiming for its "you are either a predator or prey" with many moments feeling shallow as a result (esp. the beginning and ending with a side character). The actions that are taken lack the thriller since neither side feels like they are worth rooting for and they don't have an enticement to see what will happen next. 

 

How are the actors? In regards to story importance, the actors to focus on are Rosamund Pike and Peter Dinklage. Rosamund gives a pretty good performance with that's abundant with confident arrogance, though her talents aren't enough to make this written lead engaging. Peter does a competent performance for his menacing archetype but isn't given much material to chew on that would allow him better scenes. Honorable mentions Dianne West for having a decent moment or two to shine in her acting. Dishonorable mentions Eiza Gonzalez and Macon Blair due to the former appearing to sleepwalk in many of her scenes while the latter is easily one of the worst actors who's given bizarre directing with his line delivery.

Overall Consensus: I Care A Lot stumbles with its premise due to its bland screenplay that favors a style over substance approach with lackluster people and dull thrills but has some nice production value, decent acting, and nice music. ⭑⭑⭑ Runtime: 1 hour 52 minutes R

 

Reasons to watch it: You are a fan of the aforementioned actors and/or filmmaker J Blakeson. You want to see Rosamund Pike's performance. You like hearing electronic music in general. You prefer presentation over depth of content.

Reasons to avoid it: You aren't a fan of the aforementioned actors and/or filmmaker J Blakeson. You are bored with shallow thrillers lacking both intense stakes and enticing people. You prefer substance over production value.