The Power of the Dog

There is a useful directness to The Power of the Dog, a western shaped by Jane Campion with a firm understanding of its audience. In The Power of the Dog, Benedict Cumberbatch provides the anchor while Kirsten Dunst introduces a contrasting energy. Without revealing later complications, The Power of the Dog opens from this situation: Charismatic rancher Phil Burbank inspires fear and awe in those around him. The resulting its 2h 6m running time feels most convincing whenever The Power of the Dog trusts behaviour more than explanation.

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The most useful technical choice in The Power of the Dog is watchful pacing, because it helps the audience understand both space and mood. New Zealand Film Commission frames The Power of the Dog through watchful pacing without letting surface finish replace character. Drawing on its New Zealand background, The Power of the Dog uses landscape used as pressure to give familiar material a more specific texture. Cinematography, sound and editing meet effectively in The Power of the Dog whenever a sequence must feel large without losing its human scale.

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The Power of the Dog finds additional purpose in its examination of law, identity and the uncertain line between justice and revenge. Through the performance of Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog makes that examination feel personal before it becomes broadly symbolic. The idea of Charismatic repeatedly returns The Power of the Dog to the cost behind its more visible developments. Jane Campion is most persuasive when The Power of the Dog allows the theme to emerge from an uncomfortable choice rather than polished dialogue.

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Jane Campion shapes The Power of the Dog with an approach that feels assured without becoming rigid. The best directed passages in The Power of the Dog establish an objective, let the characters respond and then allow the pressure to change naturally. Its polish rarely hides the personality underneath in The Power of the Dog, particularly when Jane Campion resists the urge to underline an already clear emotion. My main reservation about The Power of the Dog is that one or two themes receive more explanation than they need, a limitation that interrupts rather than defines the experience.

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The plot of The Power of the Dog is built around the uneasy relationship between Charismatic and Phil Burbank. For Benedict Cumberbatch, that relationship gives The Power of the Dog an emotional objective stronger than simple forward motion. The screenplay associated with Jane Campion lets Phil reshape the direction of The Power of the Dog in stages. Although the treatment of the central character could be sharper, The Power of the Dog never entirely loses the thread established at the beginning.

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What keeps The Power of the Dog emotionally readable is Benedict Cumberbatch, whose choices establish a consistent point of view. In scenes with Kirsten Dunst, The Power of the Dog gains tension from two performers refusing to produce the same kind of energy. Jesse Plemons contributes a separate rhythm to The Power of the Dog and helps the supporting material feel less purely functional. The direction by Jane Campion gives the cast of The Power of the Dog room to connect the quieter beats with the larger ones.

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The Power of the Dog ends as an easy recommendation, especially for western fans who appreciate atmosphere and moral tension. What remains from The Power of the Dog is the relationship between Benedict Cumberbatch, watchful pacing and Jane Campion's control of mood. The weakness that one or two themes receive more explanation than they need narrows the impact of The Power of the Dog without cancelling its better work. On balance, The Power of the Dog gives its intended viewers a distinctive experience rather than a completely anonymous piece of content.