Martin Scorsese’s Moving Ode to ‘The Power of the Dog’

Forgive me for being late to the party when it comes to Martin Scorsese’s moving speech to Jane Campion and “The Power of the Dog” at Wednesday evening’s New York Film Critics Circle ceremony.

We all know the hate Campion’s film has been getting from many circles, mostly due to its status as an Oscar frontrunner. Sometimes you need a filmmaker as respected as Scorsese to put it all into perspective.

Forget about Oscar or any other awards for a second, these are trivial things when it comes to actually analyzing and coming down to the nitty gritty of such a work of art. “The Power of the Dog,” as just a film, nothing else, is an astounding achievement. One of the very few films from 2021 that just knocked me out for a loop. It builds its sense of dread, and builds, and builds, until it’s astonishing final frame.

Many years from now, we will look back at the past year in film, “The Power of the Dog” will still be talked about. It’s riled up enough people, provoked too many reactions for it to not last.

Excerpts from Scorsese’s speech:

“It gives me a great opportunity to express my admiration for Jane Campion. That began many years ago, at Venice when she was there with ‘Angel at my Table.’ We met then, I think it was 1990. My admiration has only increased over the years,” Scorsese said. “I wish you would make more pictures, but every one you do get to make really counts.”

“What is strength and who is the strongest?” 

“For me, at first, I saw a still from it, and it had all the trappings of a Western. But the usual expectations I bring to the Western genre, all of this is turned inside out. What is strength and who is strongest? What is the very essence of strength? These questions are at the very heart of the conflict at the core of the picture. It’s there visually but not how I expected it.”

“It’s not out in the open range, it’s within,” he explained. “There are weapons of choice which are surprising too because the weapons are avoidances, withdrawal, tentative steps. Everything is obliquely expressed between the character and in the storytelling. It all comes from the side, there’s an ellipses and a suggestion dictated in the editing. They push you forward in a way, but it’s not propelling you. In actuality, they shift you to another place, another plane, which is suggestive and intriguing and thought-provoking.”

“I have seen “The Power of the Dog” numerous times. I like looking at it, I like experiencing it. Each time, I’m equally impressed by the production design, the cinematography, every element of the picture, and of course those extraordinary performances from Benedict Cumberbatch, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Kirsten Dunst, and Jesse Plemons, who I’m lucky enough to work with two times now.

“I’m most impressed by Jane’s direction and it’s a precious thing to have an artistic voice as powerful as Jane’s developing over time. It’s like a great ongoing conversation and it’s something that shouldn’t be taken for granted.”