The Power of the Dog

Every once in a while I see a movie - usually an indie of some sort - that I know is well made and "good" but that I honestly just don't connect with. 

Like at all. 

Then there are other times where I see a beloved indie film and feel the need to call out some critic BS if it's a wandering, pretentious mess. 

The Power of the Dog, now on Netflix, seems stuck between the two of those things, though leaning more toward the former. 

This Western has been getting praise for several months now and the cast of Benedict Cumberbatch, Jesse Plemons, and Kirsten Dunst had me initially excited. I knew next to nothing going in outside of the praise, and hadn't ever heard of the book, much less read it. It comes from director Jane Campion - which I feel like was a name getting thrown around that I was supposed to know, whose filmography I am extremely unfamiliar. 

My time with The Power of the Dog was a weird one. I was both consistently invested for the film's "next" scene, but bored with it 80% of the time. Once I realized that nothing much was actually going to happen, it became abundantly clear to me that this was a film where I'd disagree with critics, not out of "what where they thinking" confusion, but more from a place of knowing that this film was just not. for. me. 

In terms of how that translates for mainstream audiences and a recommendation for me, I'm somewhat unsure...on one hand, I think some might like this film and even find the deeper meaning that many critics did. But I could also see this one being a quick "hit" on Netflix and getting less than stellar word of mouth. A hard, "go see this" recommendation like The Harder They Fall (another Western on Netflix), this is not.

For as much as I may not have connected with the film, it does some of the things that I appreciate most in a film really well: cinematography, editing, and original score. These elements kept me invested, even if the content struggled to, because the movie is just so damn well made. Scenes are long and not overly edited, giving everything like character framing, placement, and facial reaction time to breath. The cinematography by Ari Wegner is incredible - often reminding me of Roger Deakins - with a lot of use of centering on characters, shadows, and jaw-dropping vistas in the background. Perhaps more than any Western I've seen recently, The Power of the Dog captures the eeriness of a completely untouched country hill...one with sunlight and cloud shadows hitting it a certain way and the way it's small in eyesight size, but you know it's massive the closer you get. Being from Colorado, there's a few areas like this on highways deeper within the mountains that fill you with a sense of mystery or dread or smallness, and I found that same feeling in this film. The original score also lends itself to creating a high-intensity and eerie, almost horror-esque, mood throughout. It's a fitting combination of lots of string and piano work that fits the "out in the middle of nowhere" haunt over most outdoor scenes.

Hiding from Peter Parker in the multiverse?

Some f**king gorgeous cinematography

The performances are unsurprisingly strong, even if almost every character is weird AF. Cumberbatch plays a grizzled, smelly cowboy who has hidden motives and as the "villain", he's quite convincing (perhaps a Bond villain in the future?). Dunst's character is often annoying, but that's a compliment to her performance of the booze-hound wife/mother that is borderline useless. Jesse Plemons all but disappears after the first half and is a bit of an air-headed ranch owner. And Kodi Smit-McPhee is lost in this time period, playing a likely gay young man who wants to be a doctor, and a cowboy, and has some concerning tendencies outside of that. For me, the performances weren't anything that I'll be awarding at the end of the year, but having this strong and intriguing of a cast certainly helps with the material. 

But that material is a bit of a shame. The film almost goes out of its way to not hold your hand about what's going on, making it a frustrating endeavor when you want just a little bit of clarity or exposition. This is one of those movies where it could be argued that "nothing really happens" and that's especially frustrating because of the false tension that you feel throughout. There's a sense of a building dilemma that only kind of/sort of pans out and certainly not in a satisfying way. Given that this came from a novel, I imagine this approach might work better there, but as a film, I felt like I was cheated out of some sort of different ending or massive conflict. As I mentioned earlier, the film has other stuff to carry it along (if you're interested in that sort of stuff) but the story and narrative here is a slog with false excitement.

I'm ok with The Power of the Dog not being my cup of tea. I'm sincerely glad that others - mainly critics - are enjoying it and, to be fair, there's a lot to like here from a technical and performance perspective. I just wish the narrative had been a little more focused and rewarded the audiences better for the sense of dread that never quite comes to pass. 

CONS

• Weirdly builds and builds and builds (quite effectively) but doesn't pan out to much
• All of these characters are weird and most are annoying
• Narrative refuses to hold your hand (good thing) but also could have used some more exposition
• A good, potentially great film that just wasn't my cup of tea!

PROS

• Stunning cinematography. Some of the best of the year and some of the most effective I've ever seen at capturing the eeriness of undisturbed nature
• Good, some great performances despite what I may think of the characters
• Calculated and precise editing
• Builds a tension and mood really effectively
• Perfectly suited original score

Rath's Review Score | 6/10