The Power of the Dog

Grade: B

The Power of the Dog (a Netflix original, based on the novel by Thomas Savage) is an intriguing fusion of slice-of-life and Western. I didn’t discern any obvious beginning, end, or through-line. I watched the first half a couple weeks ago, outside in the middle of the day. It was very cold and bright out, and I figured I wasn’t getting the full experience of the cinematography and atmosphere, with the sun beating on the TV screen. I found it contained lots of excellent moments, but overall was one-note and meandering. I chalked this up to me being uncomfortable in the temperature and brightness, so I re-started from the beginning this week on a warm night after sunset. I felt about the same.

Phil and George Burbank are ranchers in Montana in 1925. They make a stop at the Red Mill Restaurant on their way to market, and meet Rose, the widowed proprietress, and their son Peter. The film’s title comes from a speech Phil makes to Peter about how the formation of the mountains in the distance resembles a dog. By this point, Phil has taken Peter under his wing, after having spent most of the movie quite mean to him.

Director Jane Campion (The Piano, The Portrait of a Lady, Holy Smoke) has created a reflective, pensive tone. Performances are effective, and play a large part in saving and carrying the movie. I was most impressed with Benedict Cumberbatch as Phil. He seems to be doing a wicked Keifer Sutherland impression, which I mean in a complimentary way. He nails the Southern drawl, and I loved his way with words, such as “open your talker,” “what’s in the noodle?” – and pronouncing piano as “panana.” Jesse Plemons (The Irishman, Judas and the Black Messiah, Vice, The Post, Bridge of Spies) has always made me think of Matt Damon and Philip Seymour Hoffman, and he is his usual sincere earnest self as George. Kodi Smit-McPhee starred as the boy who befriends the vampire in 2010’s marvelous Let Me In – and here, plays impressionable Peter. As long-suffering Rose, it’s nice to see Kirsten Dunst again. I was a huge fan of her in some great and not-so-great romcoms and deeper pieces in the 90s and early 2000s. It’s a hoot to see her here, all grown up.

I wanted to be over the moon with enthusiasm for The Power of the Dog. We don’t have a fantastic movie here, but a pretty good one that occasionally ebbs and flows with nice bits. And by the end, I think I could see the dog.

Grade: B