I Care A Lot

Marla Grayson (Rosamund Pike) is living the American dream and, because she has made it, her confidence is unshakable — just like her body. Tied to a chair in the middle of nowhere, dead in the night, she looks her captors dead in the eye, as she explains her resolve: “To make it in this country, you need to be brave, and stupid, and ruthless, and focused, because playing fair, being scared, gets you nowhere. That gets you beat.”

Despite her being abducted, gagged and beaten, one can’t sympathise with Marla — she had it coming. You see, Marla is running a solid con within the American legal system. She finds old, powerless retirees, declares them unwell and unfit to care for themselves, has the government intervene with court-issued orders — without their or their kins’ knowledge and consent — and shifts them to an old home.

As their court-appointed legal guardian, she then gets access to their assets and properties, which she slowly auctions off. It is for their own well-being, she argues with sincerest of play-acted emotions, because she “cares a lot.”

In the riveting I Care A Lot, Rosamund Pike nails it in a Golden Globe-winning role, whereas the timing doesn’t have the punch, like everything else, in Tom And Jerry

It’s a con I’ve seen about in an American news programme. Marla, though, isn’t based on an actual person, and that is probably why writer-director J. Blakeson (The Disappearance of Alice Creed, The 5th Wave) turns her into an insatiable sociopath. She’s a villain, but in this film, villains are everywhere: from doctors who ‘doctor’ reports, to retirement home executives, to even the judges; no matter how naïve, abetting a criminal is also a crime.

Marla, however, gets in over her head when she targets, in what is in their lingo, a “cherry” — a single, old woman with substantial assets and no family (Diane Wiest). The story then takes a sharp right turn by introducing secreted diamonds and Russian gangsters. You did not see that coming, and frankly, neither did Marla.

Starring Rosamund Pike in a Golden Globe-winning role (not an award-winning portrayal, but we are talking about the Globes here), I Care A Lot also stars Peter Dinklage, Eiza González, Dianne Wiest, Chris Messina. It is riveting.

Streaming now on Netflix, I Care A Lot is rated R for mature themes, violence and elder abuse

Tom And Jerry

Back in 1992, Tom and Jerry pulled a ‘Garbo talks’ moment on the big screen. Like the silent film actress Greta Garbo, whose first talkie film Anna (1930), was marketed with the slogan ‘Garbo Talks’, the cat and mouse duo spoke on their return to cinemas in a feature length-animated movie.

The idea of the cat and mouse duo inexplicably talking after a five-minute silent gag was deemed a sin. The film was torn apart by critics and tanked at the box-office.

Almost 30 years later, Tom and Jerry return to the movies, thankfully, without the voices and some of the old antics. In fact, the Tim Story-directed film homages (read: rehashes) most of their iconic gags in a bare-minimum story. In fact, we’ve seen it before in a few episodes, at least.

The cat and mouse — Thomas and Jerome; those are their real names, by the way — come to New York City, penniless but brimming with aspirations. After a brief clash at the NY Central Park, the two eventually cross paths at a luxury hotel that is hosting a lavish wedding for a rich pair (Colin Jost, Pallavi Sharda) — the groom loves to indulge in excess, the bride wants it subtle.

Also in the hotel is Kayla (Chloë Grace Moretz, overacting in every scene), a dreamer like Tom and Jerry, who fakes her way into an assistant manager’s position under Terrance (Michael Peña, wasted), a scheming event manager.

Gags ensue without the impact of comedy. Also, while the animation looks 2D, it is actually 3D mimicking 2D — probably because it was cheaper doing it this way. The timing doesn’t have the punch, like everything else in the film.

You can see where it’s going, and you won’t mind the trajectory — the story has a serviceable generic outline — but after 30 years, you kinda want more.

Tom And Jerry, rated PG, is out on HBO Max and cinemas

Published in Dawn, ICON, March 7th, 2021