Mrs Wong (Tsai Chin), more commonly known as Nai-Nai (“grandmother”) is an ordinary elderly, chain-smoking immigrant woman residing in the Chinatown neighbourhood of New York City. She has been widowed for some years, and as a result has passed the time engaging in a variety of activities, such as weekly consultations with a fortune-teller and occasional visits to her son and his family, who try and urge Nai-Nai to move in with them, as her advanced age makes her an inherent risk for injury or disease, and they want to protect her as much as they can. However, Nai-Nai has other plans, especially after she is told that she is about to come into some good luck, which motivates her to withdraw all of her savings and set off for the casino, where she finds herself on a winning streak – only to have this promptly ended when her luck runs out. On the way home, an elderly man on the bus dies very quietly, which gives Nai-Nai an unexpected surprise when she discovers that he was carrying an enormous amount of money, which she claims and promises to give a good home. What she doesn’t realize is that the old man was involved with local gangsters, who decide to take revenge on whoever it was that stole their dearly-departed colleague’s cash, which leads them to Nai-Nai’s small apartment. Instead of giving up the money, she decides she is going to deny ever having it, which inadvertently leads her into the middle of a gang war, especially after she hires a young bodyguard from a rival mob to protect her. She discovers that there is far more to a life of crime than she expected, and when she’s not dodging bullets, she’s making sure to live her best life, having a taste of luxury that may be fleeting, but is nonetheless absolutely worthwhile from her perspective.

Lucky Grandma is a very special film. Sasie Sealy, in her directorial debut, crafted one of the year’s most fascinating gems, a charming and offbeat dark comedy that takes some common ideas and repurposes them into this wonderfully unique glimpse into social conventions that feels both entertaining and insightful in equal measure. The kind of film that doesn’t announce itself as a modern classic, but rather serves to disseminate into the cultural zeitgeist by way of word-of-mouth and positive reactions, Lucky Grandma is a profoundly interesting work that takes an ambitious approach to a few different genres, which Sealy weaves together in a compelling way, without losing sight of the broader concepts that underpin the film. A work that combines many different genres, being equal parts action-packed crime thriller, irreverent dark comedy and tender character-driven drama, this film is an absolute triumph in many ways. It doesn’t stand out as something that finds an audience through anything other than organically find its way into the lives of prospective viewers, who will nonetheless be taken by Sealy’s unique approach to a set of common ideas that she deconstructs and presents to us in a way that feels oddly refreshing, even if the film can occasionally be confined to its by-the-numbers structure. There’s a simmering genius underpinning this film, which makes it such a delightful experience, since we never quite know what to expect from it. One of the best descriptions for Lucky Grandma is one that is often used to refer to the main character, but can extend to the whole film – it is a work of outright defiance, taking an approach that may appear simple at the outset, but gradually develops into a poignant, outrageous and entirely meaningful human odyssey that is as charming as it is endlessly fascinating, in both form and content.

At the centre of Lucky Grandma is Tsai Chin, who anchors the film and gives one of the year’s most wonderful performances. She has been an actress who has worked in every area of the entertainment industry, and while she may not be recognized outside of a few roles (such as her defining performance as Aunt Lindo in The Joy Luck Club, one of the finest screen portrayals of the 1990s), she has registered as a major talent in both her homeland of China and in the United States, where her offbeat sense of humour and tenacious qualities have made her an exceptionally interesting actress. Lucky Grandma is the kind of role that really comes around once in a lifetime and almost seems tailor-made for Tsai Chin, who takes on the part with a gusto rarely seen from even the most famous actresses. DIR essentially put together a film that serves as a vehicle for the actress, so it only makes sense that the most important quality was to get an actress who could work with the role and bring it to life. Tsai Chin is simply magnetic on screen – on one hand, her impeccable comedic timing proves her to be a magnificent presence, while her ability to play even the most dramatic scenes will strike a chord with anyone. Sealy did wonderfully in casting the actress, who not only proves her mettle as a profoundly gifted character actress but gives her the chance to have another widely-seen performance that plays on her talents as both a comedic and dramatic performer – and there isn’t a single moment where the film seems like it is just using the idea of an elderly actress in unexpected situations as comic fodder, with everything the character is shown to be doing coming from a place of profound empathy and understanding for the individual. It’s an invigorating portrayal by an actress who commands the role and keeps us on the edge of our seats, and without Tsai Chin’s committed work here, there’s no doubt that Lucky Grandma wouldn’t have been nearly as successful as it was. This film belongs entirely to her, and she exceeds all expectations with the role, proving that she is an actress certainly deserving of much more acclaim and adoration than she’s already received.

What I found most admirable about Lucky Grandma was how, despite the concept of an elderly Chinese woman getting mixed up with gangsters being quite amusing, this film never treats it as a novelty, being nothing but respectful and, more importantly, actually managing to do something worthwhile with a premise that could have so easily just been a weak parody of crime films that contributes very little, if anything, to the genre as a whole. Arguably, the central premise of the film isn’t all that original – it essentially just takes the skeletal structure of nearly every action film centred on gang wars, and transposes the usually dashing, heroic lead with the complete antithesis of the archetypal protagonist. This is enough to pique our interest, but certainly isn’t grounds to base an entire film around it entirely. Where the film succeeds is in how it uses this premise to actually reflect on itself and the genre it both critiques and celebrates. Nai-Nai is barely the kind of protagonist we’d expect from a film like this – yet, she’s just as valiant and heroic as any of the characters that inspired her creation, and Tsai Chin works with Sealy in creating a compelling atmosphere that evokes the humour without making Nai-Nai the laughingstock of the film. The story itself is filled with inconsistencies, and perhaps feels too vague at times to be considered a truly great crime thriller, but this goes against the entire concept of Lucky Grandma as a whole, since this is a film built mostly from the idea of subverting expectations and looking at this kind of story in an entirely new way that may not be revolutionary in the sense of saying something entirely new, but rather gives us the chance to be entertained by a bold approach that is defined almost entirely by its incredible audacity, which often even exceeds the confines of the genre that it’s satirizing.

Possessing a rambunctious elegance, and the insistence on being outright rebellious to many of cinema’s more unfortunate conventions, Lucky Grandma is a wonderful achievement and deserves to be seen. It carries a warmth that alone makes it worth the time (and at a brisk 87 minutes, its absolutely manageable, never outstaying its welcome), and just has a genial charm about it that keeps the viewer entirely engaged throughout, as well as being a work that provides further representation for a community that is still struggling to be embraced as much as they should, with this film never resorting to stereotypes, but rather presenting us with a multifaceted portrayal of both Asian-American issues and the immigrant experience, which is often where this film holds the most merit. Like both the main character and the actress playing her, Lucky Grandma is a film that celebrates independence and proves that some of the most enduring works are those that are most unexpected. It’s an electrifying film that is somehow both hilarious and touching, with the broad comedic sequences being complemented by tender, human drama that gives us the chance to venture beyond the eccentric tone and find something meaningful underpinning the story. It’s a rich, funny and moving portrait of the older generation and how they are often the unheralded heroes that we don’t always see as such, and even when Lucky Grandma is beyond the realm of plausibility, it never stops being a fantastic experience – its earnestness is only overtaken by its ambition, which may be far more subdued than most would expect, but flourishes into a compelling blend of comedy and drama that manages to be undeniably special and beyond unforgettable. I implore everyone to seek this film out – it is one of the year’s most lovable surprises, and a film that is both entertaining and thought-provoking, which is rare for even the most established works of mainstream cinema, and which is only further proof that Lucky Grandma is definitely a worthwhile way to spend an afternoon.