In an interview with USA Today, Pike, who brings Marla to life, tells the outlet that she thinks the film's ending is perfectly just; as she put it, "I love the ending of this film because it gives you everything."
"You sort of want to see Marla win," Pike continued. "You want to see the giddy heights of success: the wall of wards and then Grayson Guardianship tower blocks going up, and the idea of care homes all over the country with her name on them. In like a couple of years, this whole shady business is going to be washed clean and she's going to be a pillar of industry making hefty bequests to charitable organizations. She's going to be Saint Marla. People like that get away with it all the time. That is how it goes. And then of course [the movie] doesn't let her get away with it."
Pike also says that as she played Marla, she had to keep one thing in mind right up until the end. "In my head, Marla never believed she was going to die," Pike revealed. "I mean, right until the point that she breathes her last, I think she still thinks she's going to win and she's going to get out of it. I really do."
Writer-director Blakeson agreed with Pike, saying, "people find the ending satisfying, but it leaves a bittersweet taste in their mouth because we end with the most likable character in the movie screaming in despair." However, as he points out, Fran and Roman will continue Marla's tradition of taking advantage of the elderly: "You can chop the head off the hydra, but there's another one that will keep living."
