328. The Power Of The Dog; movie review

 

 

THE POWER OF THE DOG

Cert 12A

127 mins

BBFC advice: Contains moderate injury detail, sex references, discrimination, language, threat

It feels like an absolute age since I watched a Western, so I was licking my lips at the prospect of Benedict Cumberbatch and Jesse Plemons driving cattle across the plains.

In Jane Campion's much-acclaimed The Power Of The Dog, they play brothers who have been in the same family business for 25 years.

Cumberbatch's Phil gives the impression of being a stereotypical cowboy - a bit of an aggressive show-off who tends to upset all but his loyal immediate team.

Meanwhile, much to his dismay, his brother George has quietly stopped engaging with his boorish behaviour and is looking to settle down.

He finds a potential wife in the widowed landlady (Kirsten Dunst) of a guesthouse where the ranchers have been staying.

She has a son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) whose effeminate nature is completely at odds with the gang and, especially, Phil, their leader.

Cumberbatch is excellent as the bully with a rapier tongue and one-liners which put down both mother and son.

But events transpire which force him to re-evaluate their importance both to his family and to him.

The Power Of the Dog captures the cruelty of the wild west in very original ways.

Instead of the usual gunfighting, the violence is verbal and the suffering is to mental health. Meanwhile, it also examines the sensibilities of the time both in terms of behaviour and sexuality.

The acting is top drawer. Cumberbatch is the meanest of villains, Dunst is the most desperate of widows and Plemons offers an intriguing counter-balance.

Smit-McPhee's role had us a little perplexed and I thought his performance was too exaggerated.

Then there is the ending. I defy anyone to fully grasp it at first watch but, thankfully, The Power Of The Dog is on Netflix, so it can be played over and over.

I can visualise viewers suddenly having a 'Eureka' moment.

But don't be like Mrs W and give up on Campion's film. Perseverance will be rewarded.

Reasons to watch: Complex but intriguing Western

Reasons to avoid: Low on action

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: Yes

Nudity: Yes

Overall rating: 8.5/10

Did you know? Jesse Plemons and Kirsten Dunst are a couple off-screen and have two sons together.

The final word. Jane Campion: "When I did the work of adapting the story, I kept going back to that experience of that first read of the novel, and saying, 'Well I've got to trust that experience, and try and lay this film out at this point in the same way, and hope that people will have the same experience I did — which is they just don't know what's happening here." ABC

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