How Routine Almost Killed a Russian Mafia Boss

Spoiler alert for the movie I Care a Lot (2020)

Annisa Tiara-Kilefors
MULTISCOPE

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Disclaimer! This article contains spoilers for the movie I Care a Lot (2020).

I wanted to skip writing for #SundayReads this week until the movie ‘I Care a Lot’ changed it. Long story short, the movie is about a fraudster woman called Marla fighting against a Russian mafia boss called Roman Lunyov that have been living a fake identity for the past 40 years. Marla’s sudden appearance to Roman’s life jeopardised his entire undercover identity.

So what could possibly inspire me from this very unrealistic movie?

This movie started with a voice-over of Marla telling the audience that in this life, playing fair won’t get us anywhere. It’s either we got ‘robbed’ or we become the ‘robber’ -in which disagree to a certain extent, but perhaps we’ll touch that point later on. This is why she -an ambitious winner, determined career woman, decided to cross some lines because she doesn’t want to be robbed nor play fair, she wants to be the robber.

Marla’s character sort of slapped me in the face. In reality, I’m a person who plays fair almost all the time. I believe that what’s meant to be for me will be for me, therefore there’s no reason to treason or cross lines unnecessarily. No, this movie does not inspire me to treason! But, it does inspire me to get out of my routines.

Marla successfully took down Roman -the Russian mafia boss, when he was transiting from his work building to his car, through exclusive-only access. There were only one bodyguard and one driver. Marla tased the driver from a close-range encounter by pretending to be lost, shot electric guns at the guard, while Roman was already in the car and injected him with a tranquilizer. Just like that, a regular woman -compared to a mafia boss, turned the tables around.

This made me think of one thing: Why in the hell would a mafia boss have only one bodyguard? Obviously the logical reason would for the plot, but let’s assume because he’s so used to transiting himself through that executive-only access and disregard the fact that any regular civilian would pop up and kidnap him. He’s probably been transiting through that access for the past 40 years which put him, his driver, and his guard in an autopilot mode that made them less aware.

On a second occasion, not the mafia boss this time, but Marla. Being a self-claimed lioness’ she was hated by a lot of people. Particularly this one man that showed up so helplessly early in the opening scene of the movie. He was one of the fraud victims who tried to appeal but lost. At the end of the movie, he was so outraged, he shot Marla in the parking lot when she’s about to enter the car. If I were Marla, I wouldn’t expect to be shot in a parking lot because going to our car in a parking lot in an open space, is a routine that doesn’t seem so dangerous!

“A big reason for this is that habitual behavior, by nature, can cut us off from feeling. Moving through a series of them can set us on autopilot throughout our day, which can lead us to lose touch with ourselves and our immediate experience — be it sensory or emotional.” — Lisa Firestone, Ph.D.

I personally think this movie is a friendly reminder for all of us that our mundane routine is a trap of comfort. Especially for us who work a 9–5 job: We wake up 10 minutes before we have to clock in at our home offices, do another daily task, clock out and workout, or cook dinner, and sleep, repeat. Our routine makes our life expected and comfortable, which dims our lights of creativity and passion.

Of course, according to psychology, routine helps us be more productive and organised, and many more benefits. But some chores can kill the life out of you instead of creating any. Breaking routines is an important thing to do because -quoting from this article by Lisa Firestone, Ph.D.:

“When we stay defended in our lives and rigid in our routines, we often lose a child’s sense of wonder about the world. However, we can reconnect with this feeling by being willing to explore. This exploration doesn’t need to be limited to a vacation or special occasion but can be connected to every day. We can explore in our own city, be freer in our relationships, or be more open to variation in our morning routine. Each day, we can make it a point to celebrate our sense of choice.”

So perhaps after reading this article and watching the movie, you go ahead and do something out of the ordinary. Like the article quoted above, you could explore a side of town you’ve never visited, or try a new cuisine. For me, tomorrow I’ll eat breakfast for dinner to see how I like this weird shift, and maybe get a nose piercing! Who knows what we’ll discover within us once we change things up a little bit.

Like how Marla said it in the movie, the key is to “take a leap of faith. But before you do, take a hard look at yourself in the mirror and ask: who are you?”

Cheers,

Tiara

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Annisa Tiara-Kilefors
MULTISCOPE

I want to help you find your light. All about self-development, motivation, and career: If you’re lost, you’re not alone ✨ // @m.atiara on Instagram