The film stars Rosamund Pike, Eiza González, Peter Dinklage, Chris Messina, Macon Blair, Alicia Witt, and Damian Young, with Isiah Whitlock Jr. and Dianne Wiest.
The film follows a con woman who makes a living as a court-appointed guardian, seizing and selling the assets of vulnerable elderly people, including the mother of a dangerous mafia boss.
I Care a Lot had its world premiere at the 45th Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2020, and was released via streaming on February 19, 2021, through Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, depending on the region.
The film received positive reviews from critics, with Pike winning Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical at the 78th Golden Globe Awards.
[4] Con artist Marla Grayson makes a living by convincing the justice system to grant her guardianship over elders whom she pretends cannot take care of themselves.
Dr. Karen Amos informs Marla about a potential case, a wealthy retiree named Jennifer Peterson with no apparent partner or close family.
As Marla's girlfriend and business partner, Fran, oversees the renovation of the house, a cab arrives driven by Alexi Ignatyev, who says he is there to pick up Jennifer.
[13] Shortly after, Netflix acquired distribution rights to the film in select countries and regions, including the United States, France, Germany, Latin America, South Africa, the Middle East, and India.
The website's consensus reads: "A searing swipe at late-stage capitalism, I Care a Lot is an exhilarating, pitch-black comedy with a wicked performance from Rosamund Pike.
[22] Owen Glieberman, writing for Variety, praised writer and director J Blakeson, whom he compared to Alfred Hitchcock, stating that "when he finally gets around to staging an action sequence, it's a doozy [...] because he takes his time and has you hanging on every moment".
[24] Slant Magazine's Chuck Bowen gave the film two stars and a half out of four, and wrote that "Blakeson means for us to champion Marla as a feminist icon for a while, though he deflates this potential moral idiocy with an ironic ending.
[28] The New York Times said that the film was an "unexpectedly gripping thriller that seesaws between comedy and horror", praising it for being "cleverly written and wonderfully cast", and for its "ice-pick dialogue" and introduction of Peter Dinklage as Roman Lunyov.
Conversely, Adam Graham of The Detroit News gave the film a "D" and said that I Care a Lot was a "misguided black comedy", as viewers didn't have a way to relate to the character of Marla Grayson.
"[30] Mae Abdulbaki from Screen Rant gave a mixed review, lauding the performances from the ensemble cast, but writing that "there is something completely missing from I Care a Lot that makes it a hard pill to swallow.
"[31] In his review for The Boston Globe, Ty Burr rated the film 2 out of 5 stars and noted that "in Rosamund Pike’s chilly, hollow central performance you may find it difficult to care at all.