The Power of the Dog

Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Kenneth Radley, George Mason, Keith Carradine, Adam Beach
Directed by Jane Campion
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Romance, Western
2021

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A gruff rancher (Benedict Cumberbatch) clashes with his brother's (Jesse Plemons) wife (Kirsten Dunst) and her son (Kodi Smit-McPhee).

Review:

Tim: I'll tell you, I do not understand the critical praise being heaped on The Power of the Dog. Critics have been lavish in their praise for a film that has a few solid elements but ultimately fails. Was it that people were blinded to the truth by an excitement about Jane Campion directing her first movie in 12 years? Did people focus too much on the strong performances and not enough on the film's shortcomings? Am I just the crazy one? We may never know, but it certainly feels to me that The Power of the Dog is the kind of a movie a self-respecting critic thinks they are supposed to rave about. The reality is that this movie falls far below where it should.

I'm certainly not immune to some of the film's charms, though. Campion does direct kind of an anti-Western Western, one that explores toxic masculinity in a restrained, quiet manner. The film is definitely character-driven and it does feature strong performances. The film is beautifully shot- the cinematography is indeed excellent. The story has a message. These things are all admirable strengths and things I absolutely acknowledge.

Here's some of my issues, though. First off, so little happens that the 2 hour, 6 minute run time feels like it stretches into infinity. There's progress in the story, but it feels glacial. When you combine this meandering plotting with the fact that there's no likeable characters, I struggled to find a reason to stay engaged with the material. I couldn't like a single character. I didn't care what happened to them. I felt no emotional connection to any of them. I'm still not entirely sure how Campion did this in a film so focused on characters. They're all complex, fractured people, yes. But they're surprisingly uninteresting. Campion's ultra-restrained manner doesn't help either. There were moments when I thought something big was going to be revealed, but the film seems to whisper these moments when it needed to shout it. As a result, the twists and the turns of the story feel less than they are. There's a certain amount of predictability to the story, too. I'm not sure why people liked the ending. It felt obvious, and this is coming from someone who rarely guesses endings because I'm trying so hard to focus on the film as it progresses. Also, the big reveal of "the power of the dog" felt so anticlimactic to me. So, you have a slow, plodding, predictable film filled with unlikable characters that might have an art house aesthetic and message, but this ultimately gets lost in the way Campion tells the story. And this is supposed to be one of the best films of 2021?

Now, I do want to acknowledge the cast. They were superb and I hope they get recognized. Benedict Cumberbatch is fantastic in what's likely the lead role (although it feels supporting to me). I like Cumberbatch, but I hated him here. That's a testament to his acting. Now, it would have helped if I cared about other characters, but you can certainly feel vile about his character. One of the great achievements is that you start to get curious about him as the film progresses. I never liked him, not for a second, but you realize there's a bit more depth to his character than it first seems. So, while Cumberbatch is good, I ultimately got so annoyed and tired of his character. Jesse Plemons has been everywhere lately. I like him, but I've rarely been much impressed with him. That's kind of the same here. He gives a good performance, but it felt so bland, so restrained that I never cared about his character. He's the opposite to his brother, so you kind of sympathize with him since he's not completely terrible. By why should we care about him? Because he's nice? Because he's not his brother? Campion gives us no reasons, nor does Plemon's performance. Kirsten Dunst was excellent in the film. Her performance was so strong. Unfortunately, she's saddled with a character who becomes increasingly annoying as the film proceeds. Dunst gives the performance her all, but when our sympathy should have been building for her character, it doesn't. It's hard to fault Dunst for this, though. The final main character is Kodi Smit-McPhee. I've long been impressed by Smit-McPhee and I think he has the talent to be viewed as one of the all-time great actors someday. He's in a very awkward phase, though, and that shows up on screen. His performance is excellent, top notch, absolutely. I just felt no interest in his character. I sympathized with him as I would sympathize with any character who was different and faced adversity because they didn't fit in with what was expected in the world. But for his character himself, why was I supposed to care? Because he loved his mom? Again, Smit-McPhee is great, but Campion doesn't help him with how she portrays his character or tells his story.

I will admit that I've historically hated most of Campion's movies (The Piano was decent). It's certainly probable that for whatever reason, I can't connect with her movies. They are certainly challenging, unexpected, different. Normally, I love those qualities in a movie. It's interesting to me that I've consistently disliked her movies and that continues here.

One of the great things about movies, though, is that people will never all agree. A movie that speaks deeply to one person may fall flat with another. That's a big reason why I love movies so much. If you can get out of your own head, it's fascinating to see what connects with other people. So, maybe I just missed the boat on this one. I'm trying to keep an open mind. However, I can't help feeling stunned by the praise of this film. It just won the Golden Globe for Best Drama (in an untelevised ceremony) and I'm dreading a bit hearing about the Academy Award nominations coming out next month. People can like what they like, but I'll be very angry if this film wins Best Picture. It's not that. It's not anywhere near the top 10 of 2021 for me. In fact, it's not even a good movie. I said what I said and I stand by it.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Piano, Holy Smoke