The G
Getting older is no joke for Ann, affectionately known as “the G” by Emma, though affection is not a term most would associate with Ann, the accumulation of seventy-two years of bad temper, bad habits and bad living, a cigarette in one hand and a glass of vodka in the other, about the only people who can stand her Emma, frustrated in love and career, who tries to emulate her stubborn independence and her ailing husband, Chip, Emma’s grandfather.
That independence is stolen in a flash with a late night knock at the door, a stranger to Ann who carries paperwork to say that he is been appointed as their guardian as they are unable to look after themselves, Chip’s complicit doctor having cited his neglect as a contributing factor; taken to a secure facility, Chip and Ann are denied access to their families, their belongings are seized or dumped and their home is sold to pay for their care.
A process entirely legal if unethical, writer and director Karl R Hearne has channelled his righteous rage at this shameful injustice into The G, starring True Blood’s Dale Dickey as Ann “the G” Hunter, perhaps not the best at self-care or caring for others, aware she is not done as well as she might for Chip (Greg Ellwand) but physically incapable of capitulating to intimidation, aware that had she been a better person this situation would not have arisen and channelling that guilt into rage.
The death of Chip driving a wedge between Ann and her stepson, Emma (Slaxx’s Romane Denis) is the only member of her family still willing to help although Ann is reluctant for her to become involved, aware of the danger posed by Rivera (Hellraiser: Bloodline’s Bruce Ramsay) and his vicious enforcer Ralph (Reacher’s Jonathan Koensgen), but unable to share her concerns with anyone else Emma has already taken handsome groundskeeper Matt (Joey Scarpellino) into her confidence.
An environment where control is maintained through the absolute authority of the appointed guardian, where those effectively incarcerated have no one to speak for them, victims of a broken system where the isolated elderly are liquidated as assets, even as she quietly grieves for him Ann realised that free of the need to protect Chip she is no longer forced to play along nicely, calling in favours from another life she left behind years before.
A vengeful hellion who unleashes her considerable wrath on those who have wronged her, Ann is not to be underestimated, The G limited in its scope by the modest budget of the Canadian production but carried by the formidable Dickey who has carved out an estimable three-decade career as a procession of women who when handed the wrong end of the stick grasp it tightly and sharpen it before turning it back on their oppressors, bringing Old Testament retribution to those who profit from the exploitation which takes place behind the locked doors of the Christ the King Elder Care Facility.
The Glasgow Film Festival continues until Sunday 10th March
