I Care a Lot

Marla Grayson, the scheming protagonist in I Care a Lot, appears to be someone you could trust with a family member or a small fortune.

But behind the broad smile, impeccable haircut, and exquisitely tailored business suits is someone who ranks alongside politicians and used-car salesmen on the moral bankruptcy scale.

Played with mischievous charm by Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl), Marla drives this otherwise uneven thriller that doubles as a satire about unchecked avarice and a broken system.

She works as a court-appointed conservator assigned to act in the best interest of elderly people who are no longer able to make important decisions for themselves. It’s a responsibility that, theoretically, requires someone trustworthy and compassionate. Marla is neither of those.

As the film opens, she takes a page from the Gordon Gekko playbook, cynically ranting about myths of fair play and hard work, attempting to position herself as an ingenious opportunist rather than a devious swindler.

However, Marla runs into trouble when she tries to send a wealthy octogenarian (Dianne Wiest) to a nursing home, with the rubber-stamp blessing of the court and an indifferent physician willing to fudge a diagnosis.

The spinster isn’t exactly who she appears, so Marla’s attempt to become guardian of her estate brings a visit from a Russian mobster (Peter Dinklage) with a well-connected lawyer (Chris Messina) and some henchmen.

As for Pike’s performance, do we admire Marla’s ball-busting ingenuity or condemn her unscrupulous tactics? Or does it even matter, as we sit back and admire her steely-eyed ability to fool everyone with false sympathy, then wait for the inevitable comeuppance?

Beneath the surface, the screenplay by director J Blakeson (The 5th Wave) is a scathing expose of a complicit establishment — from judges to doctors to insurance companies — that preys on oblivious seniors with fat nest eggs.

I Care a Lot is both amusing and infuriating for a while, before it awkwardly transitions into a more conventional cat-and-mouse battle of wits in the second half, during which the well-being of just about everyone is at stake.

The film too often strains credibility through exaggerations and contrivances. Yet Pike remains captivating as a gleeful and resilient antiheroine willing to fight for her greedy capitalist convictions to the bitter end.

Rated R, 118 minutes.