Jane Campion’sThe Power of the Dogis a slow burn of a movie that requires a lot of patience from its audience. It revels in the quiet moments between characters and outright avoids some of the major landmarks of its characters' stories. What might at first seem like a twisting tale of two brothers, one bad and one good, becomes a morality play where almost everyone has a dark side. Anchored by some indelible performances,The Power of the Dogis easily one of the year’s best films and is sure to be in the conversation come awards time.
Campion’s adaptation of the Thomas Savage novel never paints any one character as the protagonist. Most would agree that Benedict Cumberbatch’s Phil Burbank is the “star” of the picture but he’s cast as an unlikable scoundrel. Phil’s life as a wealthy ranch hand with his brother George (Jesse Plemons) has made him hardened to the point he mocks any and every individual he meets.
When Phil and George take a dinner trek up to a local inn with 10 other ranch workers they encounter Rose Gordon (Kirsten Dunst) and her son, Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee). Rose, a widow, does her best to provide a life for Peter, whose aims are more artistic in nature. While Phil ridicules Peter for his lisp and some paper flowers he has prepared for their table, George takes a liking to Rose. It’s not long before the two are married, despite Phil’s belief that she is merely after the Burbank wealth.
Interestingly,The Power of the Dogleaves so much unsaid and unshown. We never see Rose and George’s wedding, for example, but plenty of time is spent highlighting the rolling hills of Montana (by way of New Zealand) in their immense beauty. The film embraces the quiet solitude of western life and never suggests that any character is truly happy. George is likely the closest to “normal” that the film has to offer, but he is only in small pieces of it. Campion chooses to examine the film’s most broken characters to see what makes them tick.
Phil isThe Power of the Dog’s examination of a traditional version of masculinity. He loves to work with his hands, he never trusts women, and he speaks his mind regardless of whose feelings he might hurt. At the same time, there’s more to Phil than is first made apparent. However, Campion never plays off these tiny character details as gotcha moments. It’s not about a sudden revelation that Phil isn’t hardened like a stone, but rather his demeanor has roots in his prior relationships.
The film is careful not to give the audience too much – just enough to keep them following the plot and building up certain assumptions about these characters. At times it isn’t even clear whatThe Power of the Dogis about, but there’s something compelling about its key characters that viewers will crave every detail. And when the film does reach its conclusion, it’s hard not to feel an emptiness despite the happiness its last few shots suggest. What at once seems like the perfect circumstance instead becomes an ending that is hard to wrestle with.
Rich cinematography and an endlessly evocative score by Jonny Greenwood set the table, but Campion delivers a meal that is challenging to digest. There’s no question her skill as a filmmaker and a writer, and Cumberbatch turns in a magnificent performance, but every time you feel like you have figured outThe Power of the Dog, it unravels into something new. Maybe not new in the sense of good, or even better, but new in the sense of something different to unpack. And boy what a brilliant film this is to unpack, both along the way and long after it’s over.
The Power of the Dogis available on Netflix now.
The Power of the Dog
The Power of the Dog is a Western drama film adapted from the novel by Thomas Savage. When a widow and her son move into a ranch, she captures the attention of a kindly gentleman named George, much to the chagrin of his brother, Phil. After they marry, Phil’s temper begins to flare, and he begins to torment the two – but his behavior may spell disaster when his new nephew’s darker side comes to light.
