‘The Power of the Dog’: Jane Campion’s Masterful Revisionist Western [Review]

Review originally posted on 09.11.21 as part of our coverage of the Toronto International Film Festival

Jane Campion‘s masterfully mysterious “The Power of the Dog” is her best film since 1993’s “The Piano.” That film won the Palme d’Or and I can imagine that, if it weren’t for the Netflix ban at Cannes, she would have maybe won the prize again this year. 

This is an intelligent and, very well acted period western set in the far reaches of the Montana mountains. Adapted from Thomas Savage’s cult novel of the same name, the story is set in 1925 as successful rancher brothers George (Jesse Plemons) and Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch) have their relationship tested when the more mild-mannered George, a wealthy cattle broker,  marries lonely widow Rose (Kirsten Dunst).

Rose and her son Peter (Kodi Smit- McPhee) arrive at the ranch, but are clearly not welcomed by Phil, continually abrasive and macho, he feels a certain unspoken jealousy towards his brother. 

The dynamics at play between Plemmons, Dunst, Smit-McPhee and Cumberbatch are immeasurably fascinating, the latter delivers a towering performance as a cowboy hiding behind a costumed toxic masculinity. He mocks the overtly sensitive Peter, but his cruelty and violence hides deeper nuances behind the shield; a repressive nature that can only come in not feeling comfortable in one’s own skin.

Whatever threats of violence Campion keeps hinting at aren’t as important as the restraint she imbues in each meticulously delivered frame. Dunst, 39, delivers the best performance of her career. You can see the impact Phil has had on Rose’s mental health and well-being by purely staring at her anguished eyes. However, it’s Smit- McPhee who turns out to be Campion’s hidden ace. Tall and lanky, his Peter sees mom suffering under the matriarchal dictatorship as, at the same time, he sees Phil take him under his wings and try to teach him the cowboy ropes once taught to him by his deceased mentor Bronco Billy.

Johnny Greenwood’s eerie violin-led score adds much depth to this brooding, mesmerizing and masterful accomplishment. This may very well be the best movie of the year. A movie of the moment if there ever was one. [A-]