Let’s talk about a lesson on privilege from an unusual place….

CROWDER RUNS FROM SAM SEDER ON THE H3 PODCAST

I would not be able to convict that guy at the end if I were on a jury, the law is the problem. got what she had coming. I would pardon and give the medal of honor for taking out a monster.

take out a monster like that society should celebrate you.

Can’t beat her? Fuck it. Go into business with her.

I do like the way this ended though.

Don’t get fooled by old people,” Marla tells Fran as they discover the multitudes their latest ward contains. “Even sadistic, immoral assholes get old.”

But the detached, bemused tone that sustains the film for so long eventually gives way to actual feelings—to its detriment—as this dark comedy steadily turns just plain dark. Pike can do anything, and this is her juiciest role since “Gone Girl,” but “I Care a Lot” becomes less interesting when her character starts allowing emotions like fear to seep through. We don’t need justification for Marla’s heinous acts; simply making her a monster makes a stronger point...

What these predators don’t realize is that they’ve chosen the wrong prey this time, and that by kidnapping, imprisoning, and bilking this seemingly kindly retiree, they’ve angered some dangerous and violent people. Peter Dinklage is low-key chilling as a volatile Russian mobster with a proclivity for pastries, and Chris Messina has a tremendous scene as his smooth-talking lawyer, who strides into Marla’s office and tries to buy her off before resorting to threats. The snappy and increasingly intense exchange, with both actors matching each other barb for barb, is the film’s highlight.

Blakeson’s come up with such an original idea here, and he’s presented it in a way that’s both slick and vivid...

I thought he had legs,” remarks the doctor (Alicia Witt) who serves up her potential marks, for a cut. But soon, another possibility arises: “a cherry,” as they refer to a prime candidate, and the blasé cruelty in Blakeson’s script is the point. It’s meant to make us uncomfortable, and it’s effective. Jennifer Peterson (Dianne Wiest) has no kids, husband or living family, and while she’s suffering from the beginnings of borderline dementia, she’s active and will likely be around for a long time. She’s just a nice, normal old lady, totally functional, living an unremarkable life—but to Marla and Fran (Eiza González), her partner in business and romance, she’s “like a golden f**king goose.”

With her razor-sharp blonde bob, monochromatic suits, and ever-present vape pen, Marla is a woman driven by cold, hard ambition. That much would have been obvious without her opening voiceover, in which she justifies her scam: “Playing fair is a joke invented by rich people to keep the rest of us poor.” During a court hearing at the film’s start, she argues in persuasive, clear-eyed fashion that she can more accurately assess what’s in the best interest of her clients because she has no skin in the game, unlike family members who are fraught with emotional baggage and financial expectations. To her, it’s all transactional...

The grift is impressive in “I Care a Lot,” writer/director J Blakeson’s pitch-black comedy. You’ve gotta say that much for it. But it’s also so infuriating that you probably couldn’t stomach watching the whole thing were it not for the riveting lead performance from Rosamund Pike. Blakeson, whose previous films include the stylish mystery “The Disappearance of Alice Creed” as well as the derivative dystopian YA thriller “The 5th Wave,” has said he was inspired and enraged by stories he read about predatory guardians taking advantage of voiceless victims. Pike’s Marla Grayson is the towering embodiment of unchecked avarice within a system that’s ripe for exploitation.