The Power of the Dog

It's one thing to make a movie that's boring as hell whose every second is absolutely mind-numbing and unbearable. But when it’s combined with a totally off-putting soundtrack, a pathetic artsy narrative style, a seemingly profound story, and a terribly shocking punchline, then it becomes true "art". It can win all the film awards in the world, but from my perspective, none of them are going to polish up this turd. (2022-03-07)

Kodi Smit-Mcphee is going to have a hard time from the LGBT community. The Power of the Dog is a really weird family drama set in Montana in 1925, where it seems a key scene is missing, but wait! That’s on purpose. The characters suddenly change their demeanor thanks to something that happens off-camera. Campion simply hints at it and leaves the viewer to do the thinking. So the picture plays through without any sort of catharsis. It all stands on the shoulders of an excellent Cumberbatch who makes the very most of playing the rancher, really enjoying it. (2021-10-28)

A film where the protagonists look at each other in different acting positions and almost all the time, where the music supports the overall tension and a kind of invisible suspense, with the camera taking rolling panoramas of Montana. A lot could happen, but in the end nothing really does. A poorly made film by a director who obviously wanted to replicate the fragility and poetry of Pian, but incorporating it into a gritty western doesn't work. I don’t get the Oscar, I believe it put to sleep more than one viewer. And it almost put me to sleep. (2022-04-19)

The Power of the Dog plays out a very interesting and engaging psychological game with the central characters in the first half. You are waiting and wishing for their frustrations to quietly simmer away and eventually explode violently. However, that is not going to happen; the second half pretty much pushes it all into a corner in such a predictable and unexciting way that you almost feel sorry for the promising beginning. In any case, Benedict Cumberbatch has convinced me that he is a great actor - if there is one reason to watch this movie, it is his performance. Plus, the movie has a very impressive score. (2021-12-25)

“What kind of man would I be if I did not help my mother? If I did not save her?” Jane Campion's latest film certainly can't be denied its visible ambition and its push for film awards. The Power of the Dog has a solid cast in its arsenal and an engaging theme that spans different genres and corners as the plot unfolds. In addition, it features some beautiful locations of plains somewhere in Montana. However, it is quite dragged down by the sometimes too gradual build up of the plot. Campion works skilfully with hints and dead ends in the plot, which is why I found the denouement surprising but not shocking. The way Campion builds tension and relationships between the characters left me feeling uneasy – the interactions of Phil and Peter or Phil and Rose intrigued me, while Phil and George and George and Rose passed me by. Last but not least, I have to criticize the soundtrack, which distracted me throughout the film rather than enhancing the atmosphere. Academically cool, yet cleverly hinted at and genre-defying, it's a contender for several Oscars. (2022-01-11)