A domineering rancher responds with mocking cruelty when his brother brings home a new wife and her son, until the unexpected comes to pass. When it comes to the themes explored in this movie, they are timeless and powerful. Exploring the fragility of the male ego and basically toxic masculinity, the movie powerfully illustrates just how repressed men have been throughout centuries, especially in their sexuality as the movie deals with homosexuality in quite a tragic manner.

However, although the script is quite sophisticated, the overall execution of the movie was just so uninvolving to the point that it bored me very quickly and it never interested me again. The pacing is ridiculously slow and the choice to basically have no main character hurt the movie in the long run. It felt overly novelistic in that regard. It had a serious issue of lack of focus as the structure is all over the place.

And that would have been fine had the characters been stronger, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case here. Kirsten Dunst is pretty good as Rose, but the character is largely forgettable and uninteresting. Jesse Plemons is fine as George, but ultimately the dynamic between the brothers wasn’t explored to the fullest extent. None of the movie’s relationships was properly realized in my opinion.

The only character that makes an impact is obviously Phil played by Benedict Cumberbatch. This is one of his best roles to date and he is strikingly believable as this very unlikable, reserved, cold man who is repressed in so many ways that it becomes tragic to witness. Kodi Smit-McPhee is also fine as Peter, but again their scenes together were rushed and I would have preferred a whole movie just about those two instead of this film that we got.

The Power of the Dog is very well filmed, solidly scored and it makes fine sue of its location and time period, but nothing here particularly stood out in terms of its technicalities. The film is mostly just a drama with no especially strong western influences besides the setting. Campion’s directing isn’t my cup of tea and here she once again did not use a very strong story to the fullest potential.

I am not a fan of Jane Campion’s work, so The Power of the Dog also did not appeal to me. It was frustrating seeing such a sophisticated script squandered on an inferior execution. Exploring toxic masculinity and repressed sexuality, the film surely is thematically rich, but the glacial pacing made it tough to sit through. Benedict Cumberbatch is excellent as the only interesting character in the movie, but unfortunately the film felt overly novelistic in its lack of focus and the choice to basically have no main characters.

My Rating – 3