Film Review: 'The Power of the Dog'

 

When looking at highly acclaimed or must-see films from 2021, a title that often comes up is ‘The Power of the Dog’, a psychological western drama directed by Jane Campion. With the Netflix original film sweeping through awards season and being in serious talks for a best picture nomination at the Academy Awards, I was highly intrigued to see it. After watching the film, I can say two things. One, that it is certainly an interesting film. And two, it has surprisingly little to do with dogs.

‘The Power of the Dog’ focuses on Phil Burbank (Benedict Cumberbatch), a cold-hearted rancher who lives with his brother George (Jesse Plemons). When George marries Rose Gordon (Kirsten Dunst), an inn owner, Phil finds his life disrupted as Rose and her effeminate son Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee) move into his home. This leads to Phil becoming envious of Rose and spending his time tormenting her. Whilst this happens, he also strikes up a strange and unlikely friendship with Peter, an action that initially seems intended to spite Rose, but as the plot unravels seems to be due to a deeper reason. Personally, I found this a slow but mostly effective film. On the one hand, the pacing is very tense, as we see Rose gradually breaking down, and more is slowly revealed about the characters. Along with this the themes of love and jealousy the story presents are very compelling and thought provoking, adding depth to the events unfolding. On the other hand, this also makes the film feel drawn out, with most of the important moments happening towards the end of the film. This, combined with the bleak content of the story, mean the film isn’t entirely a pleasant watch. While I understand this is the point, it still made the film quite hard to watch at times. Eventually, the film reaches a conclusion that is both interesting and gives payoff to a lot of details throughout. However, I also found this conclusion to be quite abrupt and anti-climactic, especially if the viewer fails to pick up on the details building up to it. As a result of all this, the story of ‘The Power of the Dog’ left me with very mixed feelings, with there being just as many elements that I enjoyed as those I didn’t. Although, I feel some of my disappointment was largely due to my high expectations for the film, which it didn’t quite live up to.

 Whilst ‘The Power of the Dog’s’ storytelling failed to engross me as much as I expected, there are other components to the film that improved it overall for me. Visually the film is stunning, with it expertly capturing the vast plains and hills the story takes place in. From this, the viewer gets a better idea of the beautiful but desolate setting, adding to the bleak tone of the story. This not only made for a visually captivating film to watch, but it also immersed me more in the world it created. The score for the film is also excellent, with slow string music creating a pensive feeling. With even simple scenes like a group of ranchers walking and Phil cleaning a saddle, the whole film has an ominous undertone, where the viewer is left with a feeling of impending doom. These two factors together create a very atmospheric experience. As a result, while the story itself didn’t always grip me, the technical aspects helped draw me into the characters, which made for a much more enjoyable watch.

 The cast are also exceptional at breathing life into an otherwise harrowing story. Cumberbatch gives an excellent performance as Phil, where he feels imposing and fearsome but also inserts enough charm and humanity that the viewer both despises his actions and cares for him. The supporting cast deliver moving performances, with Kirsten Dunst very believably showing Rose’s slow break down and Kodi Smit-McPhee being particularly brilliant. Throughout the film he’s able to portray both the innocent boy Peter is seen as whilst exposing elements of the darker personality that he hides away. These amazing performances help give life to the cast in a story that otherwise feels harsh and apathetic. Through this, I found myself caring a lot more for these characters than I expected, and their struggles and conflicts kept me invested in the story. 

 In conclusion, ‘The Power of the Dog’ is a slow and bleak film that may not be to everyone’s taste, and in some regards isn’t quite to mine either. Nonetheless, the excellent directing, score and performances help elevate the quality of the film. Overall, I can see why ‘The Power of the Dog’ has received the level of acclaim it has and feel a lot of my negative views stem from my own lofty expectations of the film. If anyone is looking for a serious and provocative film to watch, this is one I could definitely recommend.