Character-driven movies are a lost art: some are very well done, while others can ramble on and on for too long. Fortunately, writer-director Karl R. Hearne's "The G" is a film that fits the bill as an example of the former. Casting a perfect role for veteran character actor Dale Dickey, "The G" is a film about a foul-mouthed elderly woman named Ann Hunter (or simply "The G") who is swindled by an evil legal guardian.
Soon after, following the passing of her husband, Ann finds herself caged in a squalid institution and plotting revenge to break out of the trap her treacherous guardian has trapped her in... and to keep the dark secret she's been hiding. The premise of "The G" feels like a mix of "Thelma" and "I Care a Lot," but there's a carefully measured pacing to this character-driven thriller that never quite loses the hero's journey of its not-quite-heroic protagonist.
Director: Karl R. Hearne
Writer: Karl R. Hearne
Stars: Dale Dickey, Romane Denis, Daniel Brochu
Dale Dickey's performance as "The G" is deadpan and subtle: she delivers her lines perfectly in an early scene where a doctor asks "The G" what she does, and she caustically replies that she's a "socialite." It's these small snippets of scenes that demonstrate why this is the perfect vehicle for this veteran actress to showcase her talent.
In addition to featuring excellent thriller elements, "The G" offers a great exercise in subversion through its character development. When we first meet Ann, the impression she gives us comes from her confession to her step-granddaughter and accomplice, Emma (Romane Denis), that she's "not a good person." Well... she's not, but that doesn't make her any less captivating. Dale Dickey does an excellent job as the lead character, but that doesn't mean Denis is a slob either. Perhaps not as cruel as Dickey's "The G," but just as tough, Emma is another rebellious character in this world shared with "The G," simply trying to survive. Karl R. Hearne has created an interesting world where bad people like "The G" try to survive in a world ruled by worse people. Or, by raising the possibility that someone like "The G" is "bad" because the worse characters who rule this world have given them no other way to thrive or survive.
There are some predatory villains in this world, starting with the treacherous legal guardian Rivera (a relentless performance by Bruce Ramsay). Rivera is the perfect foil for "The G": he's ruthless, unsympathetic, and very aware of what's coming. Another predatory villain in this world, though we don't spend much time with him, appears in a brief scene with Emma: Judge Roy (chillingly played by Frank Schorpion), a judge to whom Emma goes for help with her step-grandmother. This judge, disturbingly, agrees to help Emma, knowing and stating that he'll "make it up to her later." In a world like this, neither Emma nor The G stand a chance... unless they fight back.
Karl R. Hearne presents a measured story in "The G": the story of a woman coming to terms with her troubled past and understanding what it means for the rest of her life. "The G" is a perfectly flawed character: she can say very hurtful things in public, feigning a stony facade while crying like a baby behind closed curtains. Is her toughness real, or is it a mask for survival and hiding her emotions? This emotional A-plot story adds depth to the B-plot thriller unfolding in the foreground. With small plot twists, "The G" proves that heroes can still exist in a story like this, no matter how skewed the moral compass.
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