It is refreshingly pungent, and as the engine of a crime plot with some truly outrageous twists, Pike gives an outstandingly nasty performance worthy of major attention.

If the film itself doesn't care to deliver on its own promise, it's hard to imagine why we should care at all.

Filmmaking this perversely amoral is never going to be a crowdpleaser, and early responses have been aggressively divided, but I Care a Lot isn't out to be liked: like the best con artists, it gets you caught up in its strut.

I Care A Lot gives us a reality check we haven't had in a while that will leave us wondering: who are the Marlas of the world?