Imagine this: you’re a single retiree living alone. One day, a sunny young woman knocks on your door declaring herself your legal guardian with a court order stating you must be moved to a care facility. This is the premise of I Care A Lot, a comedy-thriller I recently devoured on Prime. Rosamund Pike plays Marla Grayson, a con artist who bribes doctors into determining elderly people unfit to care for themselves so that she can take over their finances. What makes the movie so scary, and enthralling, is that it doesn’t seem like a stretch.
Ever since my stay in the hospital last fall, I’ve been wondering, at what point is someone considered incapable of taking care of themselves? And who is responsible for their care?