I Care a Lot ending explained and all your questions answered – CNET

If you just finished I care a lot, you probably need a moment to take it all in. Available on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video depending on your region, this jam-packed thriller has it all: memorable characters, twist after twist of plot, and Rosamund Pike’s invincible Lego haircut. To top it off, the story was inspired by real life events. Let’s break down some of the biggest questions in I Care a Lot and discuss that shocking ending.

warning: spoilers ahead.

where can i stream i care a lot?

Depending on your region, you can stream I Care A Lot on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video. Netflix offers it for the United States, France, Germany, Latin America, South Africa, the Middle East and India. Amazon Prime has it for Australia, Canada, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, and the UK.

Do I really care based on a true story?

j blakeson wrote (and directed) i care a lot after being inspired by real news stories of professional tutors in the united states and a “loophole” that they exploited. “It started when I saw news stories about predatory real-life guardians who cheat the system and exploit their protégés,” he said.

Blakeson said he went down a “google rabbit hole” while researching the film. “I was horrified. Imagine opening your door one day and there’s a person standing there holding a piece of paper that gives them full legal power over you.” he added, “this provided a lot of themes that interested me, like ambition, the american dream, and humans becoming commodities. so the story started there. i sat down and wrote it on my own and very quickly it became what i now I am. I care a lot.”

what is the phenomenon of guardianship?

If you choose to delve into the dark and immoral side of Marla Grayson, the New Yorker has a 2017 essay on the phenomenon of guardianship.

what about vaping?

marla grayson and her vape pen are always apart. According to Rosamund Pike, this reflects Grayson’s roots in a vaping company, a part of her backstory that was not included in the film.

“marla’s backstory is that she had a vape business until a big discount vape store opening across the street put her out of business, which she was furious about,” pike told collider. “I think that was her chance for the American dream to play fair. She had a small business, she owned a small business, she got screwed and then she thought, ‘That’s right. The chips are low. I’m going all out. I’m going to play the system like everyone else. And I think every time you inhale, it brings that attitude. It’s the attitude that you’ve been screwed and now you’re willing to screw everyone.”

Jennifer Peterson leaves the nursing home at the end?

You may have noticed that we don’t see much more of Jennifer Peterson (Dianne Wiest) halfway through, once Marla commits her to a psych ward. so does she ever she make it she? Marla and Roman (Peter Dinklage) argue over Jennifer at the end, when Marla again asks for $10 million to free her from her. Instead, Roman draws a wild card and offers to partner with Marla to build a global nursing home business. Since Marla agrees, we assume that she deals with Jennifer’s release as part of the deal.

why did marla have to die?

Marla’s death not only comes just when she seems to have everything she wanted, but it also brings a happy ending to her love, Fran (Eiza Gonzalez). while this comeuppance might be justified, it’s bittersweet. Rosamund Pike and J Blakeson discussed the ending with USA Today.

“In my head, Marla never believed she was going to die,” Pike told USA. today. “I mean, right up until the moment she exhales her last breath, I think she still thinks that she’s going to win and she’s going to come out on top. I really do.”

Blakeson said, “People find the ending satisfying, but it leaves a bittersweet taste in the mouth because we end up with the cutest character in the movie screaming in despair.”

if you still have mixed feelings about marla being shot, blakeson gave cinemablend another explanation for why it might make you feel a certain way.

“what I like about the ending… is that I think it’s the kind of thing that people think they want, and they kind of enjoy it, but then hopefully, like five minutes later, it leaves an aftertaste bittersweet at the mouth of, ‘should i want that? should i enjoy that? what does that mean?’ there are movie conventions and things about supporting people and empathy, and it’s interesting that it’s all there.”

was that always the end?

if you’re at camp hoping marla would get away with her dastardly deeds, blakeson considered an alternate ending (but ultimately decided it didn’t work).

“in editing, you try a lot of different things and in different ways. you never want to have a path that isn’t explored. we tried the other path, and it just felt too [weird]. that’s how the world works, you know what I mean?” blakeson told cinemablend.

what’s wrong with fran?

While it’s heartbreaking that Fran loses her love, Blakeson said she inherits Marla’s part and role in the nursing home empire. However, this is not necessarily a good thing, because older people “are still going to get fucked up in a real way,” Blakeson told USA. today. “You can cut off the head of the hydra, but there is another one that will live on.”