'The Power Of The Dog' A Review

The Power Of The Dog is a western, based on a novel of the same name, about volatile rancher Phil(Benedict Cumberbatch). Phil is domineering, repressed, narcissistic and anti-social and takes offense when his brother George(Jesse Plemons) takes up with a widow in a neighboring town Rose(Kirsten Dunst). Rose's son Peter(Kodi Smit-McPhee) is waifish and bookish and as a result is the recipient of Phil's ire until the two seem to connect, perhaps as a result of ulterior motives.

Cumberbatch puts in considerable effort which is commendable, and he's unquestionably talented, but he is horribly miscast here. His accent is a bizarre flat mid-Atlantic which doesn't match with the genre or setting, his posture is ramrod straight and although he clearly learned many skills for the role(braiding, banjo, riding etc.) they are all performed with a robotic repetitiveness that more clearly evokes the Terminator rather than a human cowboy. And the story seems to call for his character being intimidating or scary and that is simply not born out in the performance. Plemons and Dunst don't have much to do which is a shame but what they have to do doesn't land near much reality. Dunst's character particularly turns into a simpering, melodramatic caricature of an alcoholic seemingly in the span of weeks which doesn't work and is baffling. Not a fault of her's more the script. And Smit-Phee has some interesting moments but he's mostly sidelined until the third act. Much of the tension between the characters seems a result of their simple inability to communicate which is not particularly sympathetic or cinematic. All in all, despite the talent, it just doesn't work, none of the characters have much dimension or reality and as a result there's nothing to really hook into or care about.

Beautifully shot, evocative score, authentic costuming all make for a great production. But the narrative, either by virtue of the adaptation or the source material itself, is bloated. There's too many threads that don't come together and as a result of their number no single one is properly developed. There is so much hinted at, feinted at, but never actually addressed. And one of the major knots of the story is Phil who is, perhaps closeted or the survivor of sexual abuse or some combination of both, but this isn't given proper attention and that aside it doesn't have nearly the compassion, focus, or truth in this regard as Brokeback Mountain which came out sixteen years ago. Not that there can't be more than one gay cowboy movie with different takes, there absolutely can, but if you're going to do it, do it. So on many levels it all begs the question, what's the point?

Talent in front of and behind the camera fail to come together. More award season signaling than compelling narrative.

Currently in theaters streaming on Netflix 12/1.

Stream It.