The Power of the Dog (2021) Review 

This film has been gaining a lot of claim from all of the film festivals and today The Power of the Dog made its way to Netflix, so I watched it and here is my review for it. The premise of the film sees a rancher motivated by his work attempt to ruin the lives of his brother's new wife and son in law. 

Main Character

Benedict Cumberbatch is one of the best actors on the planet and he really proves it here with a mesmerising and brilliant performance. He is not a likeable guy in this film but he totally owns the screen and you can't help but watch him and care about his character. As the film goes on the real genius of this character comes into the light and he is easily the star of the show here. 

Supporting Characters

Jesse Plemons plays his brother and I really liked the juxtaposition between the two of them as you see the intense Cumberbatch mixed with the calm and collected Plemons and it works really well. He does fade into the background at certain points in the film but it feels appropriate to the story that is being told. Kirsten Dunst plays his wife and I also thought she was really effective in her role, I am not always her biggest fan but here I thought it worked and you see her character really spiral and the tension between her and Cumberbatch is sometimes tough to watch but in a good way. Kodi Smit-McPhee is a young actor who is growing in reputation and I think he was better as the film went on and he shared more scenes with Cumberbatch. Another up and coming performer Thomasin McKenzie has a small role and she is decent but I kind of wonder why they got her when she had very little to do in this film. 

Story  

The story is affective in showing how one person can cause a lot of issues for another without laying a finger on them. The acting really raises this material up and you see how these characters minds work and it really hits its stride in the last act with a really interesting ending. But the film takes too long to get going, the film could have done a better job in setting out its narrative flow and overall themes. 

Script 

The script is okay, there are some really good lines and moments. The plot is pretty clever with interesting storytelling being on display. But as I mentioned above, it seems to plod along a bit too much and this film takes itself so seriously that it can be a bit of a hard watch for sure. 

Style 

The film looks beautiful, the cinematography is fantastic and it really is a marvel to look at the backdrops and the world that has been created here. Mixed with a really effective soundtrack, it was a key thing to bring me into the film. But the film is very slow in its pacing, it feels at least 30 mins longer then it actually is and that hurts the overall quality of what is an interesting watch. 

Overall

Overall, The Power of the Dog is a good film. If you want to watch a film that wants to win Oscars and have great acting and filmmaking then this could be one for you. 

Rating - 7/10