The Power of the Dog (2021)
Country: GB/CAN/AUS/NZ
Technical: col/2.39:1 126m
Director: Jane Campion
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Kodi Smit-McPhee
Synopsis:
Montana, 1925: when the quieter of a pair of ranchers marries a widow, his rough diamond brother teases out her weaknesses in revenge. But then her son returns home from medical school for the holidays, and the balance of power subtly shifts.
Review:
The spirit of the departed Bronco Henry hovers over Campion's film, and a handful of indicators points to a passing of the mantle to the unlikely personage of Peter, the effete scarecrow of a son. Alcoholism and suppressed homosexuality also swirl around unhappily within this almost biblical family drama. The title evokes a passage from the book of Psalms and seems to align Cumberbatch's Phil with the figure of the dog, though this is far from clear: while the dogs in the good book tend to signify ravening, pack-like behaviour, Phil's dog, who responds to his whistle with unquestioning loyalty, seems more like Peter, who in turn replicates Phil's awed obedience to Bronco Henry, except with ultimately malign intent. (Their shared interpretation of a shadow cast on the nearby mountains reinforces this point.) The fact that Peter's inheritance depends on more than one chance occurrence provides further food for thought in this many-layered film whose characters, transfigured by a vast empty landscape, seem equally worthy of our compassion.
Country: GB/CAN/AUS/NZ
Technical: col/2.39:1 126m
Director: Jane Campion
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Kodi Smit-McPhee
Synopsis:
Montana, 1925: when the quieter of a pair of ranchers marries a widow, his rough diamond brother teases out her weaknesses in revenge. But then her son returns home from medical school for the holidays, and the balance of power subtly shifts.
Review:
The spirit of the departed Bronco Henry hovers over Campion's film, and a handful of indicators points to a passing of the mantle to the unlikely personage of Peter, the effete scarecrow of a son. Alcoholism and suppressed homosexuality also swirl around unhappily within this almost biblical family drama. The title evokes a passage from the book of Psalms and seems to align Cumberbatch's Phil with the figure of the dog, though this is far from clear: while the dogs in the good book tend to signify ravening, pack-like behaviour, Phil's dog, who responds to his whistle with unquestioning loyalty, seems more like Peter, who in turn replicates Phil's awed obedience to Bronco Henry, except with ultimately malign intent. (Their shared interpretation of a shadow cast on the nearby mountains reinforces this point.) The fact that Peter's inheritance depends on more than one chance occurrence provides further food for thought in this many-layered film whose characters, transfigured by a vast empty landscape, seem equally worthy of our compassion.
Country: GB/CAN/AUS/NZ
Technical: col/2.39:1 126m
Director: Jane Campion
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Kodi Smit-McPhee
Synopsis:
Montana, 1925: when the quieter of a pair of ranchers marries a widow, his rough diamond brother teases out her weaknesses in revenge. But then her son returns home from medical school for the holidays, and the balance of power subtly shifts.
Review:
The spirit of the departed Bronco Henry hovers over Campion's film, and a handful of indicators points to a passing of the mantle to the unlikely personage of Peter, the effete scarecrow of a son. Alcoholism and suppressed homosexuality also swirl around unhappily within this almost biblical family drama. The title evokes a passage from the book of Psalms and seems to align Cumberbatch's Phil with the figure of the dog, though this is far from clear: while the dogs in the good book tend to signify ravening, pack-like behaviour, Phil's dog, who responds to his whistle with unquestioning loyalty, seems more like Peter, who in turn replicates Phil's awed obedience to Bronco Henry, except with ultimately malign intent. (Their shared interpretation of a shadow cast on the nearby mountains reinforces this point.) The fact that Peter's inheritance depends on more than one chance occurrence provides further food for thought in this many-layered film whose characters, transfigured by a vast empty landscape, seem equally worthy of our compassion.