Written and directed by Karl R. Hearne, The G, which focuses on a mysterious older woman seeking revenge on the corrupt legal guardian who destroyed her life, is a unique take on the classic revenge thriller.
Inspired by this real-life grandmother and lead by renowned character actress Dale Dickey (Winter’s Bone, Iron Man 3, Leave No Trace), Hearne hopes to make a difference within the genre regarding how the industry sees actresses of a certain age; “I can definitely say that this film is very different in that there’s no other film that I’m aware of that has an older female lead in this type of role.”
Talking to Peter Gray as the film arrives on Digital platforms in Australia, Karl and Dale touched on the pushback they received in conceiving the film, how much of Karl’s “Irish granny” was imbued throughout the story, and how Dale felt about leading a film so far into her career.
Congratulations on the film. I love these type of revenge movies, and The G is no exception with women getting shit done. Karl, I know the essence of your own grandmother is what inspired “The G” and Dale’s performance, but how did the narrative of elder exploitation specifically evolve?
Karl R. Hearne: Like you said, it really started with a character. It started with this sort of mythologised version of my Irish nanny. And then it was really taking this very, very formidable, tough older woman and plunking her down in this scenario that I’d read about and had some personal experience of, unfortunately, over the years. Just this absolute nightmarish scenario that seems dystopian, but it’s actually fairly common.
It’s a real life thing where people take legal control of the lives of these vulnerable older people, and this guardian determines who you see, what family members you can see, what drugs they can take, they take control of your assets. It was really the combination of putting this person in a scenario and watching them fight their way out of a very difficult situation.
I feel like it’s something we don’t really hear about in Australia. For me, it was the conservatorship of Britney Spears that I found as a relatable throughline. You read about something like that and realise how serious and how sad these situations are. I just hope this movie helps open up the conversation to how horrific this is. But within that serious narrative, we have this action mentality around it, and it feels like we don’t often see women in this role. Dale, we’ve always seen you in supporting roles, but between this and A Love Song, we have these lead roles, which is so great to see. There’s a tenderness and a ferocity to your performance here. Was that part of the appeal for you in being able to lead with this strong character?
Dale Dickey: Well, thank you for that, Peter. I’ve been really blessed with these two scripts, The G and, yes, A Love Song. Two lead (roles) back to back for very different films, and the chance to explore a character for the entirety of a film (is something) I’m not used to doing. I’ve been popping in and out as a supporting actor (for my career), and it’s like being a cog that fits into that story. So I would ask “Where do I fit in?” When you lead, it’s like, “Okay, well this is my story, so I fit into the entirety of it.” It’s lovely putting those puzzle pieces together.
But (my character) Anne (“The G”), I knew it was a terrific role. And those do not come along, so I wanted to jump at it. And then I met Karl on Zoon, and I got a great feeling from him. We (als0) had a fabulous crew and cast in Montreal, and I was so happy I did it. I started to get nervous, but it turned out to be a wonderful experience. I look at this kind of thing as a challenge. A huge, wonderful challenge for me to grow as an actor and to try and accomplish something new and different. And I had a great, strong director to help me with that.
Karl, was Dale always who you envisioned for the role?
Karl R. Hearne: Yeah. I looked at a lot of (Dale’s) supporting roles. Many of them I’d already seen. I looked at these supporting roles, and what I had known her best for in many of these roles was that ferociousness. Like, something like Winter’s Bone. There’s so many of these tough characters, but I found these supporting roles also had this really tender quality, this really sensitive quality, and the one that stood out the most was Leave No Trace.
The G, as a film and with this character, is about this ferocious (person) who has all of these worlds of complicated emotion, but it’s buried pretty deep, and how do you show that without coming out and directly saying it? That was the dialogue that Dale and I had throughout filming. And, for good reason, she was worried that (Anne) could be a very unlikeable character. Someone who’s just really tough. And when her granddaughter reaches out to her, she gives nothing back. I had to reassure (Dale) and say “It’s going to come out in moments, and then those moments are going to have more power because of just how little you’re giving the audience.” It’s not just other characters, but the audience have nothing to hold on to you (too), but, by the end, I think people absolutely love this character.
Dale, how was that balance for you in finding the humanity within a certain unlikability?
Dale Dickey: I’ve played a lot of marginalised, lower-class vagrants. People that are struggling and have had difficult lives. So finding that humanity is always really important. And with Anne, it was a challenge, because to sustain that throughout the entirety of the film and find where those moments come out is what I love. I love that challenge as an actor, and I never know until I get (on set) what it’s going to be like. And, again, having a terrific director and crew and wonderful supporting cast…without them I would have been lost. (Everyone) were all so tremendous.
You can read a screenplay, but until you’re there in the room, and we only had a couple of days to rehearse, it’s about building a relationship. I did not have children. I have cats (laughs). But I’ve always loved children, and I do have maternal instincts, and that was nice to play. That’s the underlying softness in (Anne). That maternal instinct for (her granddaughter) is in her, and she’s spent her whole life alienating everyone, so I think there’s a lot of self-loathing that comes with that. It’s part of her anger. In my mind, anyway. I don’t know if that answered your question (laughs). I just rambled on (laughs).
Was there anything you specifically put in the script regarding your grandmother for Dale to emulate?
Karl R. Hearne: Yeah, but not in the way that I would say to Dale, “This is my grandmother now.” It was in the conversations that Dale and I would have. One of the main things was the idea of my Irish granny, and there’s details in the film that are actually from real life. But it’s just this idea of someone who doesn’t give much back. Someone who is so tough that when you reach out your hand to them, or when you express some kind of human warmth to them, they don’t give it back to you. And Emma is constantly trying to do that in some of their scenes. There’s this scene where (Emma) visits (Anne) in the elder care facility, and Dale’s character gives her nothing. Just these glares, and this is where that conversation would come in, because Dale is so full of warmth and humanity.
Dale would ask if it was too much. I would tell her that it’s best to just hold the line, because (that character’s humanity) is eventually going to come out. There will be these moments where you see the glimmer of humanity, and by the end I think you have this very strong portrait of a woman that Dale and I are very proud of.
Dale Dickey: It’s a sad place to be, actually. You know, the more I watch the film and talk about it, I see she’s very lonely within a certain world. She’s made this her world, so that relationship with (her granddaughter), I think, is a new hope and a new possibility to maybe start over. Maybe go kick some more ass (laughs).
There’s a line in the film that I really loved, where Anne says “You live longer if you let your anger out.” And she goes on to mention it worked for her character’s mother, who lived until she was 102. I wanted to ask the both of you if there were any words of wisdom that you have taken with you throughout your career that have stuck?
Karl R. Hearne: Yeah, that’s a tough one. I mean, words of wisdom? Those specific words did not come from my grandmother, but that is how she lived. She definitely lived according to those words. I can’t think of any advice that has stuck with me in that way. Dale, can you think of anything?
Dale Dickey: I do know that, you know, growing up, as we get older and people get sick and people die, I had always heard over the years – I think a couple of my mom’s friends got cancer, like back to back – and I remember my mother would talk about these housewives from the 1950s that lived with so much stress and, perhaps, repressed anger. At least, this is what I’m relating it to, that can turn internally. I think it can cause problems with your physiology. Is that the right word?
My mother was an extremely positive person, but she also had an extreme amount of anger. Perhaps it was passive, but I could see the pain underneath that positivity. She always wanted to make everything happy, and I think there’s something cathartic about letting it out and just saying, “What the fuck. Let it go!” Life is way too short, but I don’t think we realise that until we get older. I’m getting older, so I’m going to release my anger and go outside and do a big primal scream. Wait until November 5th and see how loud that primal scream is (laughs).
And with this film being female-led, it still feels as if we’re having a conversation around that being some kind of novelty. Women leading big, successful films has always been around. But The G being led by a woman of a certain age, did you find it was difficult at all did get off the ground?
Karl R. Hearne: I can definitely say that this film is very different in that there’s no other film that I’m aware of that has an older female lead in this type of role. It’s something I’m very conscious of. And it was a big risk. The gatekeepers who market and sell films, they don’t want something different. They want something that they’ve seen before, so there was definite pushback and resistance. There were people suggesting to make the character of Anne a man. That’s obviously ridiculous.
There were a lot of challenges because I’d have people telling me that the script is great, but an older female lead in a revenge thriller? I’m not sure it’s something that can be sold. I don’t think this is a Liam Neeson movie by any means of the imagination, it’s more character driven, and I think it’s darker, and it was an absolute challenge, but I’m glad we stuck with it. I think we did something that’s original and different. Will it make a difference going forward? I hope that this leads to just more roles for Dale, you know? And maybe roles for other older women in these kinds of films. But I’ll believe that when I see it (too).
Dale Dickey: Well, you know, Helen Mirren kicks ass. There have been strong women, but these revenge thrillers tend to be for younger actresses. So (The G) is a departure from that. Females of a certain age are sort of forgotten. Postmenopausal women are meant to be grandmothers. Sorry, I’m getting political (laughs), but so many of these women still have a lot of vigour to them. I was just talking to a friend the other day about something they’d read about these two elderly men in a nursing home getting into a fist fight. There’s that vigour! Their bones might not move the same way, but people still want to fight. I get it. I’m not an action hero, but I could damn well do a good job of attempting it.
The G is now available to rent or own on Digital, including Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube & Google Play.
