The Power of the Dog (2021)

29 December 2021

The way Netflix hyped up The Power of the Dog I was a little concerned. But I think it has a lot going for it. It's not too long a film (2h6m), and it has a small cast with a lot of depth to it. Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch) plays a toxic rancher that has a dominating personality over the other ranchers and his family. As his brother George (Jesse Plemons) tries to start a different non-ranching life, Phil's presence looms negatively over George's new wife Rose (Kristen Dunst) and her son Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee).

Cumberbatch definitely steals the show, and the story is suspenseful, and very good for a drama. The supporting cast is also great with strong performances all around. I don't know if I'd call it a western in the normal sense, as there's no gunfighting or shoot-outs in this film. What makes it a western though is the scenery, though the frontier backdrop, and the uneasy music by Jonny Greenwood sets constant tones that feel like additional, important characters.

My largest criticism is that there's an arrogance to it. This is a film that was made for film awards, and as such it has scenes that feel like they're meant to be analyzed for meaning. It can feel heavy-handed at times (the movie title is part of a psalm in the Bible), which to me is a little distracting. 8/10