Some caring is just plain dangerous. Specifically, caring for old people as performed in a country and society where money rules above all. This is a story of care turned into business. This is a story of Marla, a woman whose ruthless ambition, flexible moral compass and unrestrainable drive to succeed, make her into something of an American hero. A classic raise yourself up by your stiletto heels story.
Marla has been exploiting the absolutely despicable US system of guardianship, something that this reviewer has only learned about recently in an excellent and terrifying episode of Dirty Money (one of the few genuinely good socially relevant Netflix shows of late). Basically, a person of a certain age can be relatively easily found incompetent and assigned a guardian to take care i.e. exploit the living daylights out of them. It seems positively antithetical to the concept of free country, such sudden deprivation of freedom and assets and yet it’s perfectly legal and apparently occurs regularly. For more on this, do watch that episode (and the other ones too) of Dirty Money, but back to the movie… This is, after all, a fictional account, though it gets the situation perfectly right and exploits it ingeniously for maximum black comedic affect. Marla is a living embodiment of the American dream and a slave to the exigencies of Mammon. You’d think she’s be completely repulsive, but Pike to her credit makes her devilishly compelling. She isn’t evil per se so much as she is an adherent to her own sort of morality. She’s getting ahead in a country and a society structured to prevent women from doing so. And she definitely has what it takes. Let’s face it, with Marla standing in for 2016 election, things might have played out differently. Nothing gets in her way, the only humanizing quality she has is her profoundly devoted relationship (depicted with genuine chemistry, no less) with her gal Friday/partner played by the stunningly gorgeous Eiza Gonzalez. And then one day Marla gets in over her perfectly coiffed brainpan by taking advantage of the wrong old lady, played by the always excellent Diane Wiest. Which places Marla in the way of some criminal types, lead with zeal by the so hip he’s hipsterish Dinklage prone food based temper tantrums. Oh be still my beating… So yes, kudos to the writer/director for taking an important, oft overlooked subject and making an entertaining movie out of it, kudos to the casting team for getting first rate talent…people that really gets their chance to shine due to the director’s frequent use of close ups and wild situations. But main kudos here are to Rosamund Pike herself, a fascinating actress that doesn’t really get her due. A proper British beauty, but interestingly, almost forbiddingly, angular, Pike has a very specific, shall we say, glacial appeal that both worked so well in her career making Gone Girl and potentially prevented her from becoming a larger star in the grand scheme of things. She isn’t warm or cuddly (her name literally brings to mind a weapon…or a fish, but mostly a weapon), she’s commanding. Commanding women are terrifying to profoundly sexist societies. They also make for terrific characters and Marla was tailormade for Pike, who received a much deserved Golden Globe nomination for her performance. Or vice versa. Pike radiates maddening determination and fearless zeal that make her character such a powerhouse. She’s pure ambition wrapped in designer threads, she views people as commodities and herself as a juggernaut to gather all the gold coins on the way to the top. She’s a winner in every alarming way possible. And just wait to find out how it all ends. And there we go. A great movie, easily one of Netflix’s (a company that has long prioritized quantity over quality) best. Fun in a smart way, exceptionally well done and terrifically cast and acted. The title…not the best, needs work. And In don’t have an alternative in mind right now. But the rest…is pretty awesome. The most compelling moral tale of rampant immorality in ages. The kind of movie you can care about…a lot. American dream realized in all its debauched splendor.
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