MovieChat Forums > I Care a Lot (2021) Discussion > What a horrible movie

What a horrible movie

posted 4 years ago by AnubisRaydeen (7897)
35 replies | jump to latest

It tries to shroud itself in a thin candy shell of "cautionary moral tale" and even pretends to be a dark comedy at times. But what it really is is a power fantasy of a writer that has about as much grasp of Russian mafia as JK Rowling has of sports. The leads are utterly despicable and yet the film portrays them as heroes that we are supposed to root for. They don't even qualify as antiheroes.

Hated it strongly from the start. Started to enjoy it in the middle during the rescue attempt. Went right back to being infuriated and annoyed by it immediately. The supremely predictable end did not make up for this waste of time.

I wish we could have had Rosamund's same character in a different movie with better writing and directing. She did the tough business woman well. If only she and her lover were not such evil irredeemable scum. She and Wiest's characters had something to admire. But the only character I liked at all in the whole movie was Wiest's.

2/10

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[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

I totally disagree. It was well acted and entertaining. 7/10 would be my rating.

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[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

Problem isn't the acting or production values as much as it has plot holes all over the place... The biggest on towards the end is that the Russian mobster would keep his word and let her live after she fucked with him and his mother. Hell his mother would have insisted he kill the bitch and there isn't a chance he wouldn't have.

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[–] UncleRuckis (2637) 4 years ago

He was talking about them making a Billion dollars together. I will definitely buy that a man who uses young girls as drug mules(and probably worse) would be willing to stow his anger to legitimately make that kind of cash.

It's not like the Russian mobster guy can do it without her. He needs her attractive smile and sociopath ruthlessness to be the public face of the company. Couple that with his ability to "handle" any problems that come up and they were going to rake it in. Of course, he would need to upgrade his henchmen, seeing as how the ones he had were Wilie E. Coyote levels on incompetent.

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[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

He didn't need her once she went over how it was done. Once he knew the secret recipe she was worthless.

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[–] UncleRuckis (2637) 4 years ago

Keep in mind, the reason she is so successful at this scam is because she's a pretty blonde white woman who judges and other people will naturally trust. Plus she has no conscience, making her well suited for the job.

Now could he have planned to off her later? Possibly, but don't forget, she knows who he really is and who he's hiding from. It's a safe bet that she's taken precautions in the event of her untimely death.

Better to just make a boatload of cash leave any thoughts of payback in the past.

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[–] AnubisRaydeen (7897) 4 years ago

You don't have any problem with the fact that Russian mafia cannot simply kill two people? Their murders were incompetent. No mafioso that has had his mother threatened and treated like that would allow her to live. He wants to make money? He is in the mafia. The mafia. They would absorb her business without her. Would she have been better at it? Sure. She was very good at it. But they wouldn't care. They'd kill her and take the business. Dinklage would not have valued money over his mother. He obviously has lots of money. The new opportunity (through her "business") to make tons more would not give Pike a get-out-of-jail-free card.

The power fantasy aspect of this movie made it obvious that this is what was going to happen, no matter what logic and reason had to be trampled.

Never said the acting wasn't good. It was all about the writing (and some of the directing was guilty of) pushing the two most horrible people into a hero's spotlight.

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[–] actionkamen (23176) 4 years ago

It is a power fantasy yes. But why does power fantasy is automatically bad? I keep thinking of John Wick when I saw this movie. It has almost the same basic structures, just flip around a few things here and there. Instead of "gun-fu" here we have "court-fu." Which are both ridiculously unrealistic tbh.

John Wick is a good movie. It's SUPER unrealistic and has the same silly depictions of a mob, just like this movie. But it's a movie, it's fantasy. I enjoyed this movie a lot, at least it's more creative than cookie-cutter superhero movies.

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[–] AnubisRaydeen (7897) 4 years ago

As I said before, if you switched all the genders of the characters, it would STILL be a bad movie. When your power fantasy story is an in-artful garbage fire that tramples reason, then it has little worth. Wick was great up until the "Homeless Empire" aspect showed up. Same problem.

So it isn't the power fantasy itself. It is the missteps that are too common to power fantasies themselves. Like a child's fantasy story which ends with all the candy in the world in a giant heap and no school forever.

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[–] actionkamen (23176) 4 years ago

I said nothing about gender. Sorry, maybe you took me for another poster you conversed with previously. I just wanted to reply to your latest post, specifically about the silly unrealistic depiction of the mob.

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[–] AnubisRaydeen (7897) 4 years ago

If you think Dinklage's behavior/choices at the end were good writing then we simply disagree on what makes a good script. I can be fine with the absurd in films and even some bending of reality in action but when character portrayal whiplashes around in the name of praising some irredeemable leads then it is B A D. Are there not action movies that are stupid in addition to great ones? There are standards even within the fantastic. "Anything" does not "go."

What if Pike and her partner were child molesters? Still cool with the writing/directing?

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[–] actionkamen (23176) 4 years ago

No, I actually agree with you that the depiction of the mob in this movie is silly and unrealistic. It was not a good writing.

Actually I got confused too by what the moviemakers were actually trying to tell. I thought it was a semi-realistic dramatic take of a serious issue. But then the Dinklage character comes out. And I was like what? Is this a serious movie?

But then I simply turned off my brain and went for the ride. I think they tried to make Alien vs Predator theme, whoever wins we lose thing. Still, they should've make it clear from the beginning. I'm not very fond of the changing of genres mid-movie.

I was cool with the writing/directing because turned out it's just a silly movie. Stupid scenes always happen in this kind of movies. Think 90s Van Damme or Seagal movies. Those are basically all power fantasies with little care for plot and logic. I enjoyed them.

I honestly think they set the tone wrong in the beginning. I see it threw many people off. They should've been clear from the start that this is a stylish comedy thriller in the vein of, say, Now You See Me. Or well, even John Wick, but with less action.

What we differ is just that I enjoy this stupid movie, while you were not entertained by it. It's not the best, but certainly not a 2/10 for me.

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[–] AnubisRaydeen (7897) 4 years ago

Aye. I enjoyed the middle part where they were trying to rescue the mom. If the whole thing was like that then I would probably have enjoyed it. The utter preposterous events would have fit just fine if it was all zany and I was only expected to root for payback and catastrophe for all. But they went and tried to garner sympathy for the leads and hammer genres together poorly.

I liked Pike's portrayal of the character. I so wish that it was in a different movie. Her toughness was great! I loved her shout after she came out of the lake.

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[–] TheArgentinian (7251) 4 years ago

Same old sexist complains 😴

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[–] AnubisRaydeen (7897) 4 years ago

What did I say that was sexist? Did you even read my post?

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[–] TheArgentinian (7251) 4 years ago

Men can, women can't, basically.

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[–] AnubisRaydeen (7897) 4 years ago

You didn't read my post. I would have liked Pike's character and her partner to be in a different movie that was written/directed competently.

Don't know why I am responding to you. You obviously see my windmill as something to tilt at.

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[–] TheArgentinian (7251) 4 years ago

You wot, mate?

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[–] AnubisRaydeen (7897) 4 years ago

Change the sex of every character in the movie and it is still a lame power fantasy movie full of bad people.

Read a book.

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[–] TheArgentinian (7251) 4 years ago

Wow, such an unheard of premise!

Watch a Disney movie, dolt.

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[–] AnubisRaydeen (7897) 4 years ago

Are you this angry all day? Seething while you eat your bran flakes? What gives? Did I poke your favorite movie and you can't keep it together? Calm down.

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[–] TheArgentinian (7251) 4 years ago

I'm not the one throwing a tantrum over a woman outsmarting men in a friggin movie.

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[–] AnubisRaydeen (7897) 4 years ago

You insist that it is about gender. It is like you are responding to some other post but are too confused to keep it straight in your head.

I love a good gal-outsmarts-guy movie (Pike's Gone Girl for instance was great). Or even an anyone-outsmarts-anyone movie ... as long as I am not being guided to root for absolute evil people. I can like anti-heroes but this movie wasn't like that. The leads were ruining the lives of innocent elderly and their families but we get swelling musical pieces to accompany their triumphs. Triumphs over bad guys, yes, but even they were of a sympathetic theme as Dinklage loved his mother.

The movie also took time to portray the lead's love for one another as though it were a romance we should have some stake in. Who could possibly want anything other than severe justice for those two?

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[–] Jinx (3877) 4 years ago

Who did you root for in 'Goodfellas"?

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[–] AnubisRaydeen (7897) 4 years ago

The bad people in Goodfellas (everyone) were not portrayed as sympathetic characters. It didn't assume some heroism for the leads. Goodfellas was also well done, unlike I Care a Lot.

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[–] Jinx (3877) 4 years ago

How did this movie guide you in any way to ‘root’ for the bad characters? Why do you have to root for someone. This was interesting on a villain vrs. Villain standpoint. You didn’t like it. Okay, but movies don’t have to be what you want or expect. I liked this ‘because’ it was different and I wanted to see who was left standing at the end. To ‘hate’ this movie ‘does’ suggest that there is something else that really bothers you besides the fact that the main character is evil because that isn’t a good reason to inspire such hate.

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[–] AnubisRaydeen (7897) 4 years ago

I'm sure you think I have a problem with lesbian leads. Nope. Knew they were right away. No problem.

We are guided to root for them because they show tender expressions of love between them many many times. Holding hands, sharing close-ups of true love expressions, making love. We also get musical accompaniment of heroic style when they achieve anything. If you cannot see the writer/director bias for the female leads then it is YOU that has "something else" guiding your opinion. The bias is misplaced because they are despicable. If this was a consistent dark comedy in which they all suffer then it should have been shot and written that way. But nope. It is obviously preoccupied with the female empowerment aspect. This would be fine if only they were not RUINING THE LIVES OF ELDERLY PEOPLE. Substitute some other less vile con in place of that and this movie would be 50% better. Let it be about female empowerment, fine. But this film can't decide what it is and in the process steps in the shit of lauding its primary goal like no other aspect means anything.

What if they were beating up old people? Still fine with their portrayal? Basically the same thing.

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[–] Pete314 (3342) 4 years ago

It is not about a woman outsmarting men. If it were so it would be fine and welcome. It is about fraud using failures in the law and the help of a lazy judge for (nearly) getting away with it.

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[–] TheArgentinian (7251) 4 years ago

That's your problem with the movie? Watch Disney movies if you want to see good characters doing good things.
She even got punished at the end for it, ffs.

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[–] Pete314 (3342) 4 years ago

Oh, I watch Disney movies, thanks. But if I want to see corrupt assholes misusing weak laws a simple newspaper might be sufficient.

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[–] kuatorises (7467) 4 years ago

I don't think you know what the word sexist means.

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[–] TrentnQuarantino (9443) 4 years ago

Yeah I agree it is too ugly to enjoy, and also having been through something a little like this with my own mother in a nursing home, I think it was very disrespectful, but also stupid.

I have to admit I've alway had a soft spot for Diane Wiest. I think she is great.

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[–] Heisenberg (6730) 4 years ago

Whar happened to your mom?

I hate people taking your rights, especially doctors, nurses or police or judges, because their job is to protect you.

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[–] TrentnQuarantino (9443) 4 years ago

> I hate people taking your rights, especially doctors, nurses or police or judges, because their job is to protect you.

I met a lot of life-saving people during care taking for my mom. I found out that there was a women talking over her finances and care and charging her for the work she was doing. She was not abusive or corrupted, but Adult Protective Services should have notified my sister and I. I am not sure what happened, but once I found out about it, they handed control back over to us - right away. It is very hard actually to get someone "conserved" by a judge, but in this movie the judge was part of the scam. Probably not very realistic, or at least not very common, I hope.

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[–] actionkamen (23176) 4 years ago

It's as realistic as Hollywood car chases and gunfights. I don't understand why many people give a pass to, say, a ridiculously unrealistic karate battle in movies but not to any unrealistic courtroom battle.

As if courtroom proceedings in movies has to be 100% accurate but then people can be drugged in a car, thrown into the lake, and come out alive and well is okay, it's a movie. Yeah, that's totally fine, but the courtroom drama is stupid because it's unrealistic.

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[–] TrentnQuarantino (9443) 4 years ago

I think a lot of that is about media has become the advertising of our culture. With a rotten corrupt police force, what do we do ... the hard work of rooting out bad police and higher up corruption at City Hall? No, we saturate the airwaves with police shows that tell us how great police are and how great our country is. Of, with doctors and we have a country where most people are in ill health and cannot get medical care when they need it. So what do we do? Do we integrate innovations that other countries have where they spend half of what we do and get twice the results, or do we just keep making doctor TV series that tells us how great we are?

With courtroom dramas. I think the specific elites that handle TV broadcasts and movies do not really want to empower citizens with an understanding of the legal system - because it would promote high expectations and activism, so they dumb it down, like the do with the schools.

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