- Starring
- Dale Dickey, Romane Denis, Daniel Brochu
- Writer
- Karl R. Hearne
- Director
- Karl R. Hearne
- Rating
- n/a
- Running Time
- 99 minutes
- Release Date
- n/a
Overall Score
Rating Summary
This will be one of many reviews during this year’s Fantasia International Film Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.
Montreal director Karl R. Hearne returns to the city to bring the North American premiere of The G to Fantasia. The film follows Anne (Dickey), an older woman who falls victim to a legal guardianship scam in an industrial American town. As her granddaughter Emma (Denis) tries to take legal actions to free her, Anne rekindles her mysterious past to take revenge on the scammers who are trying to take everything she has left.
After an extensive career of supporting roles, the film allows Dickey the opportunity to shine as the lead, highlighting the emotional toll of Anne’s present and the stern grit of her mysterious past. Shedding a light on the overshadowed topic of abuse in elderly care and the elaborate scams that can come with it, Hearne does an effective job at capturing this in a raw, somewhat documentary-style take and setting up a grim tone that will leave some audiences uncomfortable. The cloudy and depressing winters of the Montreal area, where the film was shot, only help to reinforce that dark atmosphere throughout.
As Anne transitions into her plans to enact revenge, it is where The G loses much of its focus and devolves into a passive, half-cooked revenge plan that renders her a sitting duck. She merely becomes too reliant on her fixer, who makes little progress in helping her, and Emma, and causes bigger ramifications on the legal aspects of her case. Hearne attempts to find a balance between the social issues of a film drama with the gripping revenge plot of a thriller, but does not provide any depth to either of his ambitions. Outside of Dickey and Denis, who provide an authentic familial connection despite Anne and Emma not being biologically related, the supporting cast deliver a mix of bland or disinterested acting that serve as unlikeable figures, regardless of whether audiences are supposed to root for them or not.
With The G, Hearne gives Dale Dickey a chance at the spotlight by highlighting her range as an actress. However, an unfocused script, balancing a sensitive depiction of elder abuse and a passively ill-planned revenge, gives her very little to work with as her character waits around for others to follow through. While the depressing Montreal winter landscape serves as a great atmosphere, it is not enough for viewers to get invested in this town, a statement that real Montrealers can relate to.
still courtesy of levelFilm
If you liked this, please read our other reviews here and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter or Instagram or like us on Facebook.
