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The Power of the Dog
A Golden Globe nominee for Best Motion Picture Drama of 2021, The Power of the Dog is a dark and sweeping psychological epic rife with such raw intensity and sexual tension that it dares the viewer to creep into some shocking areas of human nature and then allowing the viewer to decide if they want to make that plunge or not.
The setting is 1925 Montana where we meet Phil Burbank (Benedict Cumberbact). an iron-fisted rancher who has been running his ranch for years with his brother, George (Jesse Plemmons), though he has always made clear to George who the boss is. During a respite while taking cattle to market, Phil, George, and their men stop at the Red Mill restaurant, which is run by a charming widow named Rose (Kirsten Dunst), who has a sensitive young artist son named Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee). Phil and his men ridicule and harass the widow and her son to the point where George feels he has to apologize to Rose. The men return to their ranch but George goes back to the Red Mill, returning to the family ranch a few days later announcing he has married Rose, a move that changes the course of all the people involved forever.
Jane Campion, who won an Oscar for writing the 1994 film The Piano has crafted a story of ethereal beauty and sexual depravity that keeps the viewer wondering exactly what's going on from one scene to the next because nothing is overt or in our face. Its approach to exposition is slow and deliberate making the movie taking a little too much time get going, but once it does, we find ourselves fascinated as we find ourselves drawn to the enigmatic Phil Burbank, a charismatic figure whose authority over his crew resembles Jesus and his disciples. We also see a man with some serious demons eating him up inside through bizarre behavior when he is alone. We are perplexed as Rose marries a man she doesn't really love but jumps out of her chair whenever Phil is 100 feet from her. There's a great scene of her alone playing the piano while outside Phil is duplicating the tune on a guitar, that came off like a twisted version of the "Duellin Banjos" scene in Deliverance.
Campion has mounted an absolutely gorgeous film here, where the stunning exteriors quietly hide the sickness within the story. Campion's camera brings story as close to the ugliness as it can without completely exposing it. Campion allows the viewer to make certain decisions about the story, that make viewer imagination go to some really dark places. There is a lot of unpleasantness on display including some shocking cruelty to animals, so if you're sensitive to that sort of thing, be forewarned.
I must admit this was my first real exposure to Benedict Cumberbatch, outside his part of the large ensemble cast of August: Osage County, and if this performance is any indication of the man's talent, will definitely be checking out more of his work. I can't recall performance in a while that was so simultaneously bone-chilling and sexy. Plemmons is warm and likable as George and I've never enjoyed Dunst more onscreen, in a complex role. Production values are spectacular with shout-outs to cinematography, music, and especially sound...loved the sound of Phil's boots clomping across the floor. Fans of There Will be Blood will have a head start here.
A Golden Globe nominee for Best Motion Picture Drama of 2021, The Power of the Dog is a dark and sweeping psychological epic rife with such raw intensity and sexual tension that it dares the viewer to creep into some shocking areas of human nature and then allowing the viewer to decide if they want to make that plunge or not.
The setting is 1925 Montana where we meet Phil Burbank (Benedict Cumberbact). an iron-fisted rancher who has been running his ranch for years with his brother, George (Jesse Plemmons), though he has always made clear to George who the boss is. During a respite while taking cattle to market, Phil, George, and their men stop at the Red Mill restaurant, which is run by a charming widow named Rose (Kirsten Dunst), who has a sensitive young artist son named Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee). Phil and his men ridicule and harass the widow and her son to the point where George feels he has to apologize to Rose. The men return to their ranch but George goes back to the Red Mill, returning to the family ranch a few days later announcing he has married Rose, a move that changes the course of all the people involved forever.
Jane Campion, who won an Oscar for writing the 1994 film The Piano has crafted a story of ethereal beauty and sexual depravity that keeps the viewer wondering exactly what's going on from one scene to the next because nothing is overt or in our face. Its approach to exposition is slow and deliberate making the movie taking a little too much time get going, but once it does, we find ourselves fascinated as we find ourselves drawn to the enigmatic Phil Burbank, a charismatic figure whose authority over his crew resembles Jesus and his disciples. We also see a man with some serious demons eating him up inside through bizarre behavior when he is alone. We are perplexed as Rose marries a man she doesn't really love but jumps out of her chair whenever Phil is 100 feet from her. There's a great scene of her alone playing the piano while outside Phil is duplicating the tune on a guitar, that came off like a twisted version of the "Duellin Banjos" scene in Deliverance.
Campion has mounted an absolutely gorgeous film here, where the stunning exteriors quietly hide the sickness within the story. Campion's camera brings story as close to the ugliness as it can without completely exposing it. Campion allows the viewer to make certain decisions about the story, that make viewer imagination go to some really dark places. There is a lot of unpleasantness on display including some shocking cruelty to animals, so if you're sensitive to that sort of thing, be forewarned.
I must admit this was my first real exposure to Benedict Cumberbatch, outside his part of the large ensemble cast of August: Osage County, and if this performance is any indication of the man's talent, will definitely be checking out more of his work. I can't recall performance in a while that was so simultaneously bone-chilling and sexy. Plemmons is warm and likable as George and I've never enjoyed Dunst more onscreen, in a complex role. Production values are spectacular with shout-outs to cinematography, music, and especially sound...loved the sound of Phil's boots clomping across the floor. Fans of There Will be Blood will have a head start here.