Parens patriae refers to a government’s obligation to protect those of its citizens deemed too vulnerable to care for themselves. Although altruistic in intent, it is a principle that has been exploited to forcibly place senior citzens under the care and control of court-appointed guardians. With his sardonic thriller I Care A Lot, writer-director J Blakeson (The Disappearance of Alice Creed) lays out the duplicitous means by which these guardians can overmedicate, gaslight, swindle, and even kidnap their elderly wards, all within the bounds of the law.

The ice-cool Marla Grayson (Rosamund Pike) is one such unscrupulous profiteer. Having made a mint selling off the assets of the dozens of retirees trapped in her permanent care, she and her partner Fran (Eiza González) stumble upon a veritable golden goose in the form of Jennifer Peterson (Dianne Wiest), a mark with no apparent family or debt, only a tidy fortune to be mined. But, while applying their scam, Marla and Fran soon discover that Ms. Peterson is not who they thought she was, and that their actions have disturbed the designs of a crime lord (Peter Dinklage).

Part cautionary exposé of all-too-real elder abuse rackets, part welcome excuse to pit the wickedly entertaining Pike and Dinklage against each other in a game of uproarious reprisals, I Care A Lot barrels along a twisty trajectory rife with terribly dark, but darkly funny, behaviour – as well as adamant reminders to please respect your elders.