The retribution visited upon exploiters of seniors by June Squibb in current sleeper hit “Thelma” has but Nerf-ball impact compared to the brass-knuckles style of vengeance practiced by Dale Dickey in “The G.” This considerably less cozy tale has the star as a vinegary veteran of hard living who turns out to be very much the wrong person for organized criminals to safely prey upon.
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Canadian writer-director Karl R. Hearne’s second feature recalls much 1970s cinema in its emphasis on gritty character detail over suspense mechanics, resulting in an ostensible thriller that’s not very thrilling. Still, its storytelling has the same grim satisfaction that drives its heroine, a woman who’s not particularly ingratiating but is quite capable of doling out punishment to deserving parties.
Known as “the G” to granddaughter Emma (Romane Denis), 72-year-old Ann Hunter (Dickey, playing a decade older than her age) is less fondly regarded by others, including in-laws who blame frail widower Chip’s (Greg Ellwand) declining health on her having married him. Indeed, she’s no Florence Nightingale, smoking and drinking away the days while he lies abed, tethered to an oxygen tank.
Still, neither of them are prepared for the sudden downturn in fortunes when they get evicted from their home, strong-armed to a bleak housing project inhabited by other elders forced into legal guardianship by court order. It turns out this is standard operating procedure for a well-oiled scam machine targeting vulnerable seniors, with corrupt doctors and judges declaring them incompetent so white-collar perp Rivera (Bruce Ramsay) can liquidate their real estate, savings, and other assets. They’re kept as virtual prisoners, or worse — at the start here we see two of the boss’ thugs bury alive one unfortunate who’s outlived his cost-efficiency.
Ann and Chip do not appear to be worth such effort. But Rivera has reason to think she’s got a fortune squirreled away somewhere, despite her vehement denials. In fact, Ann does have a checkered history she prefers not to discuss, involving an estranged family in Texas “with a lot of enemies.” The violence of that world left her someone who “doesn’t take shit from anyone,” to put it mildly.
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When Chip pays a high price for her refusal to talk, Ann begins marshaling her long-dormant but considerable resources to rain ugly justice down on the heads of their persecutors. That includes calling upon the services of a Lone Star State enforcer, as well as building solidarity with a much more passive (but conveniently gun-owning) fellow resident/captive played by Roc Lafortune. Meanwhile loyal Emma is utilizing the apartment block’s hunky young gardener (Joe Scarpellino) in her own somewhat reckless efforts to free grandma. These allies may turn out to be untrustworthy, however.
Apparently shot in Montreal, the English-language feature is purposely vague in terms of setting. Its whole look — somber colors, drab locales, interiors shorn of decor, the clean but cheerlessly plain compositions of Vlad Horodinca’s widescreen cinematography — conveys anonymity, the kinds of overlooked milieus in which unwanted people can “disappear” without anyone noticing.
At times one wishes “The G” were a bit less dedicatedly low-key, more willing to stoke tension. But there’s an authenticity to its near-dreariness that leaches away the pulpier aspects of this story, so it seldom feels like contrived melodrama. And easily dominating a solid cast, Dickey has no time or patience for cheap thrills. Admitting “I’m not a nice person…but I do have other qualities,” her Ann immediately convinces as someone who’s been on both sides of a gun before, learning it’s better to shoot than be shot at. Even when Hearne’s film ends on a fadeout note weaker than she deserves, she lends it as much flinty force as can be managed.
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