IMDb plot summary: Charismatic rancher Phil Burbank inspires fear and awe in those around him. When his brother brings home a new wife and her son, Phil torments them until he finds himself exposed to the possibility of love.
Directed by Jane Campion. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, and Jesse Plemons.
The Power of the Dog is a western directed by Jane Campion about a woman who marries a rancher and then has to respond to the personality clashes of her unfriendly, often cruel, brother-in-law and her less masculine son that he incessantly mocks. I watched The Piano by Jane Campion last year and didn't fully grasp it. Even when I knew it was trying to do, it didn't really work for me. This one is a different story. There is a an almost visceral creeping tension to it. Everything just feels off, in a way that feels substantial and thought-provoking. Benedict Cumberbatch is very unsettling in this but the film also does a really interesting job of making its characters not entirely good or bad but really truly flawed people, even as the people around them are quick to ascribe those "full good/full bad" labels to them. I frequently dislike westerns because I feel like they all follow the same formula and I can predict what's going to happen miles away, but this one really goes in different directions every time I think I know what it's going to be doing next. After TikTok had loud opinions about me not liking The Piano, I decided I definitely wanted to give Campion's work another try sometime, and I'm glad for the opportunity to watch this one. It definitely makes me more interested in seeking out her other works in the future.
How it entered my Flickchart:
The Power of the Dog > Dark and Stormy Night
The Power of the Dog < Till Death
The Power of the Dog > Timecop
The Power of the Dog < Watchmen
The Power of the Dog > Woodstock 99: Peace, Love and Rage
The Power of the Dog > The Boys of Paul Street
The Power of the Dog > Evita
The Power of the Dog > Cake
The Power of the Dog > The Descendants
The Power of the Dog > I Heart Huckabees
The Power of the Dog > Just Imaginge
Final spot: #1109 out of 3545, or 69%.
No comments:
Post a Comment