[Review] I Care A Lot (7/10)

 

Title - I Care A Lot
Studio - Netflix
Starring - Rosamund Pike, Eiza Gonzalez, Diane Wiest, Peter Dinklage, Nicholas Logan, Alicia Witt, Damian Young
Writer - J Blakeson
Director - J Blakeson
Release - 19 February 2021

I never intend to watch this because the trailer didn't sell this very well. The main plot of the movie was never shown in the trailer, and I thought that was a big mistake because that was the most interesting. It reminds me of John Wick or Taken - that plot of doing the wrong thing to the wrong person and then watching the fun of it being revealed to the antagonist. 

But this later became not that. 

The problem of it all came from half the movie setting the audience's expectation in one direction, and then swerving just before it delivered on that expectation. This second half may have worked if we had someone to root for, but we did not. Rosamund Pike obviously was the antagonist. She went up against Peter Dinklage's character, who was the furthest from a saint. 

Worst thing was, the second half played like Pike was the good guy. The way director J Blakeson shot her, the background music to accompany her; but we the audience was supposed to hate her. 

And even though the ending was justified, I thought it was too late. Thinking back, I could see that the movie took a slight wrong turn when Damian Young's character was unceremoniously written off. He was the comedy, he was the eyes from a third party like us the audience. And we never knew what happened to him.

Acting wise, Pike was a powerhouse. She is so good at playing the seemingly innocent bad guy in movies, like Gone Girl. Diane Wiest was likewise commendable, playing the sweet old lady but flipped a switch when she became a bad ass. And Dinklage had another nice performance as well.