Netflix Movie 🎥 Review: “The Power of the Dog”

Rotten Tomatoes rating 94% with the audience rating of 85%

Rated: R with a run time of 2 hrs and 06 mins and an IMDb of 6.9/10.

Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Thomasin McKenzie, Keith Carradine, Frances Conroy, Peter Carroll, Alison Bruce, Alistair Sewell, Cohen Halloway, Sean Keenan, Adam Beach, Maeson Stone Skuggedal and Alice Englert.

Film Description: A domineering rancher responds with mocking cruelty when his brother brings home a new wife and her son, until the unexpected comes to pass.

The Power of the Dog is a 2021 Western psychological drama film written and directed by Jane Campion. It is based on Thomas Savage's 1967 novel of the same name. The film had its world premiere at the 78th Venice International Film Festival on September 2, 2021, where Campion won the Silver Lion for Best Direction. The film had a limited theatrical release in November 2021, and was released to stream worldwide on Netflix on December 1, 2021.

It received universal acclaim from critics, who praised Campion's direction and screenplay, cinematography, score, and performances of the four leads. It was highly regarded as one of the best films of 2021 by multiple top-ten lists. It received 12 nominations at the 94th Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, and was named one of the best films of 2021 by the American Film Institute. It also received seven nominations at the 79th Golden Globe Awards, winning Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture for Smit-McPhee and Best Director for Campion, and 10 nominations at the 27th Critics' Choice Awards, including Best Picture……whew! that’s a mouth full….LOL

As I was watching the film in the beginning I had no idea where this was going and it intrigued me to know more. I could see that this was a well thought-out script coupled with the cinematography and a great cast really makes the film. It covers themes such as love, grief, resentment, jealousy, and human sexuality. Quite a collection of emotions to watch in a film. It's purposely slow-moving to give the characters time to develop. I personally found Kirsten Dunst's character especially engaging, a far cry from the "cute" roles with which she got stuck for years. Cumberbatch never disappoints.

It's rare that I find yourself watching a film and having literally no idea where a movie is going, however this one is unpredictable in the best possible way.