One of Netflix’s most watched new original movies is “i Care Lot,” a Rosamund Pike starrer, for which she won then Golden Globe 2021 Best Actress Award.
It’s a riveting tale written and directed by J. Blakeson who was inspired by news that revealed the ugly truth about some of America’s nursing homes and guardianship system. The movie is a success, because to avoid the story from being too depressing, Blakeson added a twist by featuring an old lady with ruthless friends belonging to a covert mafia-like Russian organization.
Summary of “I Care a Lot” Plot
The plot revolves around a conwoman named Marla Grayson who exploits a society that looks to guardianship-as-a-service as a humane approach to providing great care to elderly people who can no longer care for themselves. Although not all are operated by Maria and her cohorts, some systems cater to vulnerable elderly folks who have no nearby children or family members who are actually interested in their real conditions while living under the control of care homes.
Marla operates in cohort with a doctor who does the selecting of a candidate the group calls “a cherry.” The doctor will make guardianship the best alternative for a person with financial means who’s not too fragile, but already showing signs of dementia. That way a judge will be able to issue a court order declaring the elderly no longer capable of taking care of herself and therefore needs someone to look after her, including her finances.
As soon as the judge signs the order, Marla steps in and presents herself to the elderly person as the court-appointed legal guardian; whilst immediately whisking her or him away to a private nursing home where elderly patients are supposed to be pampered and treated like royalty.
Just like in some real life cases, the contrary happens because its best that the elderly dies as soon as Marla is able to get hold of their patients’ finances. After all nearly demented senior is incapable of making the right decisions, for them to be able to live comfortably in a plush nursing home.
The twist to the real-life story happens when Marla meets her match in a nice old lady named Jennifer Peterson, played by actress Dianne Wiest. Although Jennifer is suffering from borderline dementia, she is still functional and active. Moreover, Jeniffer lives on her own, without a husband, children or any relative who would be interested if she lives longer or not. However, it turns out that she has powerful friends connected to a Russian mobster played by Peter Dinklage.
How the movie goes and ends is something viewers have to see for themselves. Some were disappointed that the movie still didn’t come up with potential solutions on how people living alone in their old age can be protected against unscrupulous people driven by greed like Marla. It simply warns people with aged parents in nursing homes to not be too trusting, which is something that everyone is already well aware of today.