The Power of The Dog

Desolate and withering, Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog is an intimate character study on desire and the consumption and indulgence of narcissism and masculinity. With the sweeping hills enclose the barren Montana plain, Campion seeks the vulnerability of man, specifically that of the sinister, archaic rancher Phil Burbank, played by the magnificent Benedict Cumberbatch.

This film takes its time. It’s a slow burn, an exploration of the repressed soul and almost erotic desires of a man charged with duty and power. A man whose own identity is built upon the image and perspective of control and power, but really, he longs for his own truth. When his brother, who he mockingly calls “Fatso” (played by the fantastic Jesse Plemons) brings home Rose (Kristen Dunst) and her son Peter (a phenomenal Kodi Smit-McPhee) his world is shattered with the new arrivals. As he struggles with recognizing his own personal identity and desire, Rose and Peter pose a threat to his own world leading to a revelation of soul and acceptance.

I’m not the biggest fan of Benedict Cumberbatch, but he has won me over in this towering leading performance. He is unbashingly cruel, viscious and absolutely despicable but also vulnerable, helpless and sincere in his loneliness. Campion fills the frame with luscious cinematography and unflinching confidence in the psychological mind games of a man at war with himself and his family. Jonny Greenwood’s score is much more subdued than the high praise I brought along with him with Spencer, but he is always there, blending his signature sound with the intimate character tensions and conflicts.

I do think Jane Campion’s new film will be a major awards contender, for Jane, Benedict and even Dunst and Smit-McPhee have an opportunity to score nods.

Behind the brim of his hat and sweat of his brow, there is pain behind the eyes of Phil Burbank. Just waiting for the right time to be seen.

4 out of 5.