Parents' Guide to I Care a Lot

Movie R 2021 118 minutes
I Care a Lot movie poster: Marla's face in red, wearing sunglasses against teal background

Common Sense Media Review

Stefan Pape By Stefan Pape , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 16+

Violent thriller has salty language, terrible characters.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 16+?

Any Positive Content?

  • I Care a Lot Movie: Marla smiling in a red T-shirt against wall of photographs of her victims
  • I Care a Lot Movie: Roman and Marla sit in separate armchairs, backlit against a tall office building window
  • I Care a Lot Movie: Fran and Marla smile at a suspicious-looking Jennifer who walks between them down a hallway

Parent and Kid Reviews

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age 17+

Based on 8 parent reviews

 

 

See all 8 parent reviews
age 15+

Based on 4 kid reviews

 

 

See all 4 kid reviews

What's the Story?

I CARE A LOT tells the story of crooked legal guardian Marla Grayson (Rosamund Pike), who preys on older adults, seizing the assets of vulnerable, innocent people. That is, until she tries her scam on Jennifer Peterson (Dianne Wiest) and more than meets her match—especially when gangster Roman Lunyov (Peter Dinklage) gets involved.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say ( 8 ):
Kids say ( 4 ):

After a promising beginning, it's disappointing that this darkly comic thriller's payoff is so underwhelming. I Care a Lot starts with a great cinematic narrative: Pike's con-woman character finally meets her match in Wiest's Jennifer Peterson. But the film gets increasingly more convoluted as it progresses. Writer-director J Blakeson must be commended for some great ideas and character creations and a slew of surprises along the way. But the film needed a tighter editing job; it loses sight of its core narrative and perhaps tries to fit too much into its run time, neglecting any sense of simplicity.

But the performances are very strong, and not just from stars Pike, Dinklage, and Wiest. There's also a fantastic cameo by Chris Messina, on the top of his game. Still, I Care a Lot suffers from viewers' not having anyone to truly root for. While it's refreshing and brilliant to see well-crafted, fully rounded female characters who aren't afraid to be unlikable, here everyone is so reprehensible that there's just no one to invest any genuine emotion into.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the violence in I Care a Lot. Did it seem over-the-top? Did the violent scenes help tell the story in an effective way? Were they shocking or thrilling? Why? Does exposure to violent media desensitize kids to violence?

  • Discuss the strong language used in the movie. Did it seem necessary, or excessive? What did it contribute to the movie?

  • Do you think viewers are supposed to be rooting for Marla, a character who is, at her core, horrible? Did you enjoy this internal conflict? Did you find it refreshing to see a female lead character like this? Can you think of any other similar characters from movies you have seen?

  • What is Marla's motivation? Discuss the idea of being motivated solely by money.

Movie Details

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I Care a Lot movie poster: Marla's face in red, wearing sunglasses against teal background

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