It’s true. I’m not trying to sound like a tough guy, but you can sit me down in front of any horror movie and it’s not going to frighten or bother me too much.
This past Saturday I watched “Saint Maud”, a young palliative nurse who’s devoted her life to God. But she’s losing her mind, and begins thinking up some jaw dropping exercises in self torture to do penance. It’s horror on a new level, and after it was over I had a cup of warm cocoa and went to bed. Sweet dreams!
And then there was this. A couple nights ago I saw “I Care A Lot” and I can’t get it out of my mind. It made me angry and uncomfortable more than anything, and the ending provided little relief. The star of the show (pictured here, Rosamund Pike) quipped “It has something for everybody!” and I know she’s an actress, but I still thought Yes it has something for everybody if they own a concentration camp or two.
I’m not going to give anything “good” away, it’s basically this: Rosamund plays Marla, a so-called guardian appointed by the courts who (with the help of some shady doctors offices and nursing homes expecting kickbacks) targets senior citizens who live alone.
She’ll have them declared a danger to themselves, get their social security signed over to some dowdy facility while Marla sells the person’s home and pockets the proceeds… along with their life savings.
In that photo above, Marla displays a wall of her victims like a hunter would display the heads of animals he’s bagged. And then one day she gets a call of a “real cherry”, a woman (Dianne Wiest) who is 70 years old and lives alone.
No family of her own, Diane owns a beautiful Cape Cod in a wealthy neighborhood. Her life is a full one of swimming, painting, gardening… and Marla’s going to take it all away, learning later Dianne has a secret. A dangerous one.
Marla doesn’t care. She never loses. NEVER. “I’m a lioness, not a lamb!” She’s the anti-hero you secretly admire and wish you could be, so rich, so successful, a businesswoman who takes no prisoners--
Except she’s not. She’s not a businesswoman, just some crummy thief with no moral compass. Her nursing home “pigeons” are fed a steady diet of pills to keep them from fighting the system until they die, confused & alone.
She’s guilty of elder abuse on a massive scale.
Netflix bills this as a ‘thriller slash black comedy’. It just felt vulgar to me, these older people’s final years and legacies stolen from them by 1-2 people who know the system. I kept thinking What if that was my mom, and none of us kids were there to protest? And look at me, I’ve never married, no kids… Dianne Weist is only 10 years older than me.
Why doesn’t Netflix make a movie about child sex trafficking and call that “deliciously nasty” too? Is one abuse less atrocious than the other?
Am I being too unkind here, taking this too personally? Shortly after I finished watching the movie, I saw on the local news where the administrator of a large nursing home in Pittsburgh (in Mt. Lebanon no less, a pretty upscale neighborhood) has been directing staffers for years to falsify records, to make it appear the facility met federal and state staffing requirements.
It turns out the home has been seriously understaffed and patients went uncared for. Is it just me or do we hear of this type of thing too often?
Here’s a trailer for the movie… maybe it is delicious as one critic said. For myself, it just hit too close to home.
Yes you are probably taking it personally because it hits close to home for you, but I doubt that you are taking it "too" personally. Likewise, I tend to take movies personally that show farmers in a bad light because it hits close to home for me having grown up on a farm. Movies aimed at mass markets are bound to hit someone personally.
ReplyDeleteSaying that, I rarely watch horror type movies. Like you they rarely scare me but they tend to be so loose with reality that I just don't enjoy them as much as I would a realistic drama or comedy.
I feel the same about horror movies Ed. Fake stuff doesn't scare me. And I get what you're saying about people bound to be offended, or taking things too personally, but elder abuse is such a real thing and it's being made light of here... if this was animals or children being abused, I can't imagine anyone laughing at that either.
DeleteI guess its easy to get emotionally evocative when watching a black comedy, the movie sounds like its hit a raw nerve. I cant see the video in my country but when situations like this are brought to light and the public is enlightened about the perpetrators perpetuating these crimes in society, the onus is on the law to act.
DeleteThanks Laurie, I liked what you said. Well, I've never been a fan of horror movies either (Friday the 13th, Freddy Krueger, etc) but they didn't get to me because they were so fake. This movie about the "pleasures of elder abuse"... what am I not understanding here? What if this had been about pet abuse? I used to think no one would do such a thing... now, I'm not so sure.
ReplyDeleteI can watch the unrealistic horror movies but not movies like these. Yes, they are far too close to home. Nursing homes scare me because you do hear so many frightening stories about them. Already, we get almost daily scam phone calls that could easily trap someone that was older and maybe not too sure of themselves. It seems they get phone numbers of the elderly and are looking to take advantage.
ReplyDeleteTom and I get a kick out of watching the old 50's black and white "horror" movies. Those are hilarious and fun to watch!
Bonnie I think the older I get, the less I am understanding so-called "black comedies". This movie gave me a lot of anxiety! To be honest, I'm really not a horror fan either (except for the classics) but I just don't see how ANY abuse--pet, child, etc is entertaining. Maybe as a moral lesson, but not like this.
DeleteOh, that is awful and so depraved. I would not watch such a movie, Doug. I prefer to watch old musicals. I saw Man of La Mancha recently. Great acting by Peter O'Toole and Sophia Loren that brought me to tears. It was a feel good movie, though. It didn't give me any nightmares.
ReplyDeleteGigi, you & I actually have similar taste in movies, I love Audrey Hepburn (I know you do too) and I love old musicals. But I have to confess, I've never seen Man of La Mancha--I'm putting that on my bucket list :^)
DeleteAdd me to the 'no horror', and no psychological thrillers list. Basically I don't care for the 'blood and guts' shows either. Give me something fun to make me laugh or something emotional to make me cry... but not something ugly, mean, or cruel. I agree that the old scary movies like Frankenstein weren't really scary, but today's stuff will give you nightmares. After all that's been going on in the world lately, I've been sticking to watching Disney. (Oh, and I love Audrey Hepburn too!)
ReplyDeleteRian I don't blame you for staying away from the scary or dark stuff... the only reason I even watched this so-called comedy was because of it's high ratings. I don't get it!
DeleteAlthough I tell myself that it's just a movie/book, I find myself more and more disturbed by those that trivialize these very real issues by making them "entertainment" and by calling them "black comedies." I've been staying with comedies and classy dramas (like "The Dig") lately. I also love mysteries, as long as they're not too graphic. They distract me and are usually plot driven, which I enjoy.
ReplyDeleteMargaret I agree about the black comedy genre... there was just something about this one that unnerved me greatly. I liked Dianne Weist though... she's a good actress, at least.
DeleteThanks for the warning Doug. I'll pass thank you. I can't stand to see cruelty or abuse to anyone. Man, woman, child or animal. It makes me hurt. I have always been confused by the term "black comedy". Is there supposed humor in them?
ReplyDeleteThanks Patti--I was going to say, I've seen some 'black comedy' movies like Robin Williams in "World's Greatest Dad", it's like a tasteless humor but at least no one is being exploited or abused... I don't like that either.
Deletei'll just stick with stories featuring big scary dinosaurs. That's horror enough. Could you imagine, some 4,000 years ago, you and several other hunters end up having to run for it - leaving the deer or whatever you just bagged. Salad again, bummer.
ReplyDeleteSue I believe dinosaurs were a couple million years ago, not 4,000! But yes I'm glad we don't live in that era!
DeleteI couldn't watch something like this. I don't watch any kind of horror movies but this is a whole other level of horror that happens every day in real life. It's beyond infuriating and scary.
ReplyDeleteThank you Kat, you said it.
DeleteIt may be scary, but I think all older people should see it and know what could happen if they aren't careful. Dianne Wiest is one of my favourite actresses.
ReplyDeleteI generally don't mind horror movies and my kids love them too, but one that scared the pants off me was "Chucky" that evil little doll. Not a fan of Gremlins either.
Thank you River, and I agree about maybe older people seeing this. And Dianne Weist is one of my favorite actresses too, that might be another reason why this bothered me so much. Haha, I could never get into stuff like Chucky or Freddy of Gremlins... now see, that stuff is just too unbelievable to me :)
DeleteP.S. I don't watch horror movies anymore, I prefer something I can laugh at or movies that make me feel good.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the warning, Doug. No way would I watch something like this. I like uplifting movies. My son keeps telling me that’s not real life. I told him I already have a real life. I like to watch something that will just make me smile or laugh. We watched The Prom tonight. At first, I thought I wouldn’t like it, but it grew on me. It’s definitely not real life and rather unbelievable, but fun to watch Streep, Kidman and Cordon sing and dance. I wish it were that easy to change bigoted minds.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kay--it's funny, the older I get, the LESS I like stressful movies. Hey I like Streep & Kidman, I'll have to check out the Prom--oh I know a really sweet movie you'd like, it's on Netflix "The Half of It". It's about an Asian girl writing love letters for a boy in her class, to make money for college. It's such a kind film!
DeleteThanks, Doug. I'll check it out. I saw Belle and Sebastian last night which was really quite sweet. Probably meant for children, but it made me smile to see a boy and his dog.
DeleteOK... Just watched The Half of It and really liked it. Thanks so much for recommending it. I’ve read DJan mention Squahamish too.
DeleteWow!! Kay I'm really glad you liked it! I'll have to check out "Squahamish" if DJan recommended it that's all I need to hear :)
DeleteI Care A Lot is not available in Canada. Some sort of copyright law I suppose. Don't think I could tolerate the elder abuse content anyway. The Dig and The Queen's Gambit is my prefered genre. I do enjoy a dark film like Fargo if there are likeable characters. Thanks for the review, Doug!
ReplyDeleteThanks Florence and YES--FARGO! That's my idea of "black comedy"! Love that movie! I liked 'The Dig' and 'Queen's Gambit' very much too, I might have to do more of these movie blogs. :)
DeleteWell, I will skip that one, too. Thanks for the warning, Doug. I would have had nightmares if I watched that one, although I do like the two actresses in it. Not worth it.
ReplyDeleteThanks DJan--I just wrote my sister and told her I'd grade the movie with an A or an F. How many films warrant that? I love Dianne Weist, but I just don't find the exploitation of others as entertaining, let alone funny.
DeleteI wanted to know how you got thru the night/morning, if your mouth is really hurting or what is happening. I checked the blog first in case you wrote about what happened yesterday, half expecting to see a pic of a tooth in your hand. But instead read the newest blog of the Rosamund Pike movie. I wanted to stand up and cheer alone in this room! The writing is PHENOMENAL, the type of thing you'd write me in an email and I'd think "My God why doesn't he just make THIS the blog!?" It's like the best of the best 'comments from the editor' news page column, rolled into apachedugism, rolled into a movie review, rolled into social commentary, rolled into an alarming red flag for all of us! Just wonderful................... and the first blog I didn't read your friends/fans comments before writing you first.
ReplyDeleteShawn, thank you very much. Your feedback has always been very important to me, and you could not have been kinder here, it is much appreciated! But based on your words here, I might do more longer movie reviews. :)
DeleteI saw the preview on Netflix. If that didn't scare me off, you have now! Besides, I usually go for the lighter stuff.
ReplyDeleteHaha, sorry Tom. If it helps, it's more tasteless than scary!
DeleteI watched it and thought Rosamunde Pike did a great job showing what a complete sociopath is like. And there was nothing about it that could be called "comedy." She was also a terrible person in "Gone Girl" too. Wonder what she's REALLY like. (P.S. I enjoyed the movie but wish she would've suffered more at the end.)
ReplyDeleteDJan, thank you for this comment--so well said and omigosh I completely forgot about 'Gone Girl'. Anyway, you gave this movie a fairer shake than I did, for some reason I couldn't 'detach' myself from it like I should've.
DeleteI watched the movie too. What is troubling is that it probably occurs. I've got a sister who has had a stroke and the parasites she has dealt with shake me to the bone. I have had a hard time trusting people although I know I would never take advantage of anyone and there are plenty more like me.
ReplyDeleteAnn, thanks for your comment. I am so sorry to read about your sister, but you're right, I think this kind of thing DOES happen, and I'd rather see an 'eyes-opening' documentary about it--not a movie for 'entertainment'. Anyway, I do think most like yourself are good people... but the bad ones are probably capable of a lot.
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