Where do I start with this one?
A court appointed guardian is thrust upon a senior woman who is perfectly capable of taking care of herself. The guardian appears on the doorstep of the house and informs you, in this case Dianne Wiest, that you are incompetent in the eyes of the law and you are to come with her.
Huh? What? These are the reactions of the new ward of the state. Scary, sudden and overwhelming. You start to protest and this lady (Rosamund Pike) points to the police cars outside in a nice demeanor and states that it's in your best interest to pack a bag and come with her.
You are whisked off to the local senior living facility where you are greeted by smiling staff members that only want the best for you. Yeah right. The manger of the facility extends his hand while you look like at him with bewilderment as you're ushered inside. Shake your hand? I think not, you've taken me from my home and are now shuffling me into my so-called room that looks like a prison cell.
We soon find out that the so-called guardian has been running a scam for years. She targets seniors whom she deems profitable. No family, great benefits plan and large savings. The "cherry" so to speak. The scam involves fabricating evidence themselves with aid from their cronies that they pay off on a regular basis. Everything is set in motion and our new found victim is the next entry in a long line of deplorable cases. The guardian even has a mugshot lineup of all her wards plastered in her office so she can keep track of all her clients.
The only problem with this plan is that this new ward is not what she seems. She's not the little old lady that has worked for 40+ years in the same job and has a nice cushy retirement plan along with the perfect life. This is where the story gets interesting.
The guardian is soon visited by a fancy lawyer in her office. 10K suit, white bleached teeth, Italian leather shoes and the obligatory briefcase made out of some endangered species I'm sure. He's pleasant but firm. He beats around the bush as he's eyeballing the mugshots of the wards plastered along her wall. You've got quite the racket going here. He knows exactly what's going on.
A brief tête-à-tête ensues and our guardian holds her ground well. She's not going to be intimidated by this lawyer that has appeared from thin air. Sensing her unwillingness to fold to intimidation he swivels his briefcase and reveals a nice chunk of cash residing in his briefcase. Why don't you take this and call it a day he says? She's no rube. If you're willing to offer me a good chunk of change you are certainly willing to offer more. She asks for millions instead of hundreds of thousands that are in before her. This lawyer scoffs at her and packs up his briefcase. Before he leaves he mentions that aspects of her life and those she cares about may dramatically change sooner rather than later.
That's it folks. The movie soldiers on in twists and turns that I won't delve into to maintain at least some amount of intrigue.
Rotten Tomatoes saunters over and lets us know what they think.
Critics rating 78% and audience rating 35%. Polarizing to say the least, this one means a watch for me. I give it a solid 7. The main character is the worst, you do hate this woman and what she has built upon the misery of others. I do commend the lead actor for taking this role as I'm sure this will leave a lasting impression on those who watch this film. Kudos and bravo for taking on unlikeable characters, many refuse to even think of these roles these days.
This is a great example of strong female characters at their best. Rosamund Pike, Dianne Wiest and Eiza González bring their A game. This is the film you rally around when discussing quality representations of women in film and not those other mainstream films pretending to be pro-woman wrapped up in a terrible script that happen to have lead women within it.
The ending is set nicely and if you've seen it please let me know if you liked it or not. This is a Hollywood movie after all and I wished they went with a more realistic one. I'm sure test audiences would have hated this movie even more if they went with the opposite of what was shown on screen.
I just watched the trailer and it pretty much sums up what I've already written in 2 minutes. Haha such is life. I hate when this happens.
All media courtesy of themoviedb.org. Thank you.
