Alexis Plunkett

Just watched this movie this evening. At first, I thought that I enjoyed it solely because the last seconds of the movie before the credits try to somehow right the wrongs that were done, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that ultimately it was not enough to redeem the film itself. The acting all around was phenomenal and that is the highest compliment to be given on the movie. The beginning half of the movie was captivating and set up what could be an extremely promising storyline, which is then not delivered on at all. The latter half of the film is really the part that is just insufferable. *Spoilers* The biggest issue with the second half of the movie is how utterly unrealistic it is. Marla is shown to be what is basically a power- and money- hungry leech that is clearly meant to be despised by the audience for how she abuses the elderly, including and especially in the case of Ms. Peterson. It has been hyped up during the beginning half of the movie that Marla will receive some kind horrible future and possibly die from pursuing Ms Peterson, whose son is a Russian mobster. This being said, that does not happen at all! Instead, the Russian mob and unfortunately, the character of Roman, are pretty much depicted as being useless when it comes to rescuing his mother from this situation that Marla has her in. The mob and Roman completely fail to eliminate any enemies except the doctor, despite having Marla and Fran in their clutches. Though is that really the mob’s fault? No! Because apparently Marla and Fran are literally invincible and go from mysteriously surviving circumstances that would have clearly and easily killed them to turning the entire story around and becoming .... action stars? I don’t know. They devise a plan as unrealistic as everything we have currently seen and somehow Roman, the mobster, ends up in their clutches? And then makes a deal with Marla to become extremely wealthy together doing the same thing? Hard pass. Marla and Fran died when the mob planned for them to die and more realistically, the mob would have made sure they were dead instead of the garbage that shown onscreen. As I said in the opening, the last seconds before the credit try to appease the audience by finally giving us what we want and have been led to believe would happen: Marla is killed. However, this too is somewhat disappointing as 1) it’s like an afterthought, 2) it ultimately does not change the horribly broken system that we have just witnessed, 3) justice is not served to the others that colluded in the broken system and yet 4) the man that shot her, who was essentially a victim of her, will likely suffer dire consequences for his actions. Ultimately disappointed in how a great premise with shock value that demonstrates a broken system and does not leave the audience feeling even remotely hopeful. If there was a political message here, sorry, but it was not played out well enough to give the audience a clear message. Better writing next time we hope.