There are some very messed up laws in the world, this is nothing that is news to any of us. However, some laws that a lot of people will be unaware about are those in the US that grant someone guardianship over another. Perhaps the most famous was the conservatorship of Britney Spears, but it's more often than not something that affects the elderly in the States. Nichelle Nichols, best known for playing Uhura in Star Trek is under such a law, and people have been campaigning to free her from it for years now as it's believed those around her are abusing her financially. Sadly, her story is far from the only one, and it's something that has, and continues to, affect a great many number of people. This is the basic premise of the new film The G, which sees an elderly couple placed under the guardianship of some shady criminals who want nothing more than to get their money and assets. Unfortunately for them, they picked the wrong woman to mess with.
Opening with a scene of two men in digging a hole in the middle of some wasteland during the cold winter, we see that they're burying an old man in an unmarked grave. Already a grizzly sight in itself, things become even more horrifying when we see that the man is still alive whilst they're doing it. This scene sets the tone for The G early on, and the terrifying grimness of that moment compels the viewer to keep on watching, even if only to see them men performing such a heinous act be brought to some form of justice.
From here we meet Anna Hunter (Dale Dickey), a grouchy and vicious elderly woman affectionately named The G by her granddaughter Emma (Romane Denis). Anna is a fiercely independent woman, one who doesn't take crap from anyone and will call any who try every swearword under the sun. However, her health is failing, and her sick husband relies on her to take care of him. Despite trying her best, things are not going perfectly for the couple. This brings them into the attention of a group of criminals. This group, who have doctors and judges working with them, find elderly people that they think have money, and have them signed into a guardianship without their knowledge. These guardians then ship them into a prison-like facility, selling off their homes and taking possession of their bank accounts.
Despite how cruel and despicable this is, it's perfectly legal, and as such Anna finds herself at the mercy of these men, men who are happy to beat her husband in front of her to try and get more money out of the two of them. Thus begins a story that sees Emma trying to find a way to get her grandmother out of the facility she's being held in, whilst Anna reaches out to some old, powerful, and violent family connections she has back home in Texas.
Dale Dickey takes the centre stage in The G, and is an actress that I think a lot of people will recognise for small parts in various projects over the years, such as Fallout, Breaking Bad, and True Blood. Dickey has been in a lot of things, bit always seems to be in supporting roles. The G, however, gives her the chance to shine as the worlds most unexpected grandmother. Hard drinking and hard swearing, Dickey is less grandmother and more enforcer for much of the film, and apart from one particular scene in which she lets her walls down is stoic and hard for the entire thing. It's a hell of a performance, especially in the moments where you see that mask slip and there's a softer woman underneath. There's a genuine sense of menace to her, and when the time comes for Anna to strike back against the people hurting her it's absolutely believable that this woman in her 70's is capable of it.
Romane Denis leads the movie whenever Dickey isn't on screen, and has a hard act to follow, standing in the shadow of Anna's larger than life character. This is something that her character Emma has to contend with in the film too, as she tries to emulate The G and be more like her, more ruthless and brave, in order to make it through. Whilst Emma doesn't succeed in being like her grandmother Denis does bring a lot of emotional depth to the character, having her barely holding together in moments of extreme stress, showing the fear hiding just beneath the surface as she wades into a world of criminals and murder.
The plot for The G feels both incredibly unbelievable, and totally real at the same time, and you find yourself wondering if it could actually be possible for such criminal conservatorship rings to exist. It makes the movie incredibly dark and depressing at times, and when we spend time within the facility the criminals are keeping their wards hostage in it makes your gut churn. The scenes of elderly people tied to their beds, covered in wounds are some of the most harrowing in the film, and as a result you're desperately waiting for the bad guys to get what's coming to them. And when it comes at the hand of an angry old woman willing to kill it's oh so sweet. There has been an increase in films with aging male action heroes over recent years, but it's about time a female hero took centre stage like this.
The G is released in cinemas 21st June 2024.
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