The G (2025) Movie Review: Dale Dickey uplifts this slow-burn that simmers in its noir mood endlessly 

Old people being badass should officially be a genre in its own right. If you thought June Squibb’s starring role in “Thelma” earlier this year was a sign of a lateral shift in the revenge genre, wait until you check out Dale Dickey’s turn as Ann Hunter — the badass old lady who has been wronged by a system that is corrupt from the inside out. The slow-burn thriller might simmer for too long in its noir-inspired vibes, but Dale Dickey’s super-angry grandmom single-handedly carries it to the finish line.

Winner of the Special Jury Prize for Best Director at the Fantasia Film Festival 2024, Karl R. Hearne’s “The G” stars Dale Dickey as a ruthless old woman living in a dilapidated condo with her ailing husband. The house is a mess, but Ann is least bothered by it. When she returns home after a doctor’s visit, we see her casually scurrying around the house to find one clean utensil to drink vodka from. When she doesn’t find one, she pours it into a used yogurt can and drinks to her heart’s content – all the while her unwell husband lies beside her. 

To establish just how straightforward but competent she is, director Hearne shows her then climbing a ladder as she barely fixes the light bulb on her front porch. We also get a sense that her blatant personality is one of the reasons why she is estranged from her own family, including her own son, who hates her. However, Emma (Romane Denis), Ann’s granddaughter, is fond of her exactly for the reason why everyone isn’t. Emma looks up to Ann’s “no bullshit” attitude – something she aspires to be, especially because she has often been taken advantage of in personal relationships. “The G” thus stands as her silent guardian – someone Emma really wants to keep close and take care of – even though Ann wouldn’t want her to. 

The narrative turns, and the main conflict in Hearne’s film arrives when Rivera (Bruce Ramsay) and his men arrive on Ann’s doorstep and force her and her husband out of their humble abode by claiming to be their official guardians. Before Ann can figure anything out, she finds herself trapped in a facility especially designed to scam the elderly by portraying them as people who cannot take care of themselves (the doctors and the system working in cahoots to keep this scam going), taking away all their possessions in a messed-up legal system.

Now, Hearne has been very careful to design the narrative out of a very real, well-documented real-life situation. To make it seem a bit suspenseful, he carefully plants more elements into the mix in order to give his noir-inspired atmosphere a sense of constant dread, with stakes being at an all-time high. He manages to create characters – beyond the main ones (think early Coen Brothers, but set in an unknown place), that also keep things intriguing. To top that off, he gives Ann just enough backstory for us to be always interested in her, but not enough to be ready for how things might unfold, which is masterful. 

That said, “The G” seems to be left on the burner for way too long. Harne’s writing becomes overindulgent and overcooked, diffusing the simmering tension that he is able to conjure up in the first act. It feels like he takes a few too many moving parts that don’t culminate in an explosive third act like one would anticipate. The direction is competent, but once you move past the initial setting and the conflict, the thriller seems to be going in random circles without actually layering up the main characters of Ann and Emma in any way. 

What isn’t flawed is, of course, a standout performance by Dale Dickey. Even though she never actually erupts into full-throttle kill mode, you wouldn’t want to mess with her. Dickey manages to make Ann’s vulnerability, her anger, and her vengeance feel believable, making “The G” a film worth checking out. 

Read More: Old People (2022), On Netflix, Explained: Ending, Themes, & Metaphor For “Respect Your Elders” Analysed

The G (2025) Movie Links: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Letterboxd
The G (2025) Movie Cast: Dale Dickey, Romane Denis, Daniel Brochu, Richard Chevolleau, Greg Ellwand, Kathleen Fee

Where to watch The G