There is something about Dale Dickey that just fires me up. When you see her in a series or film, you can guarantee you’re in for some badassery, and The G at Fantasia Festival 2024 did not let me down.
The G follows the story of Ann and, subsequently, her husband and granddaughter Emma, played by Romane Denis. Ann and her husband are an elderly couple who get caught up in a scheme in which their doctor deems them unfit to take care of themselves. After they are pulled from their home in the middle of the night, shoved into a prison-like elderly care center and have all their positions sold off to fund the home’s ring leader, Ann sees red. She quickly goes from a fairly frail woman who covers up with a tough exterior to someone who should be feared.
Ann, also referred to as “The G,” comes from a seedy past that we never quite get the full picture of. Throughout the film we get small tastes of her previous life and can only guess that she ran with a tough circle and was pretty high up because of the respect she receives from someone she calls for help. Her family knows that “The G” is rough and tough, but not exactly to what extent, and watching them learn about Ann as we do is an interesting experience.
“The G brings out the best—and most frightening—of Dale Dickey… “
Films that come out of festivals like Fantasia can vary greatly in their style. This could be anything from creative choices to budgets. So far, The G is the best-shot film out of Fantasia 2024. They were able to instill fear in us by using stylized shots you might find in a horror movie like The Shining. Long, drawn-out moments staring down sterile, empty halls brought tension. Then, in the next scene, you have isolated moments staring at Ann’s face, watching the rage inside her build-up.
The action is limited in The G, which is surprising because you keep waiting for some Sons of Anarchy-level violence to show up. It felt like a really grounded look at mob or gang-type violence. You wouldn’t find mixed martial arts or over-exaggerated boxing matches. The kind of woman Ann is, and likely the people she knew in the past, are smart, vicious and to the point. A clean shot to the skull gets the job done, and I appreciated that simplicity. The gore itself was well done and not overdramatic, either.
The G really explores things that people rarely talk about. Elder abuse is real, and these scams are real. However, what I enjoyed more than anything that pulled at my heartstrings was the idea that someone aging doesn’t mean they lost who they were. Ann wasn’t full of fight anymore, not because she lost that fire in her, but because she was finally in a place where she didn’t have to fight.
Who Dickey’s Ann appeared to be at the beginning of The G, and who she was the second someone she loved was threatened was night and day. But we also got to explore this the other way, too, with Emma. She so badly wanted to be the kind of person that doesn’t take shit from anyone, like The G. Throughout the film, we find her struggling to find her footing, to really lock down who she wants to be, only to find out that it isn’t as easy as pretending to be what you want.
“The G really explores things that people rarely talk about.”
Dickey stole every scene she was in, even if it was just from a glance. Something about her eyes screamed more than any words she could say. When her husband is harmed, her ice blue eyes over her weathered exterior express the power, fear and fight that is still left in her. Toward the end of the film, we see her reunite with Emma, and when she hugs her, she takes a brief moment to look at her granddaughter’s face.
Something about this moment utterly broke me, and it is all in Dickey’s eyes. As a mother, it is a moment I know well, taking in every inch of my loved one’s faces so that I never forget. When faced with losing everything, it is important moments like this that make the characters so much more real than in a standard action flick. Being able to show so much without words is something Dale Dickey has mastered, and even though The G’s script and direction helped, there is no one who could have pulled this off better than her.
All this is not to say that The G was perfect. Somewhere in the final act, the story felt a little sloppy and left a lot of questions unanswered. If I understood what I saw, Ann had a series of dreams about things her character never knew about. There are things that happen to keep her or her granddaughter safe that are never fully explained. It almost feels like scenes that were necessary to make the story make sense have been cut out.
There were a few “How did that happen?” moments. Though I know hints of her past were purposely left vague and open to interpretation, these little moments felt unintentional. I hate to see that in a story that was so good until that point.
The G brings out the best—and most frightening—of Dale Dickey and tells a story that grips you from the very beginning, leaving you begging for more details. This action flick expertly builds suspense, pulling its way into more of a thriller while you watch from the edge of your seat. The G is definitely a must-watch from Fantasia Festival 2024.
