The Power of the Dog (movie, 2021)

Hello,

The film, which lasts about 2 hours, recently arrived on Netflix.

I chose it first for the actor Benedict Cumberbatch, whom I like a lot. Then, for the western style, which I like quite a bit from time to time. And also, because this film has received several nominations and awards, whether at the Venice Film Festival, the Golden Globe or the Oscars.

I knew of the talent of Jane Campion, the director, especially for The Piano Lesson, although I suspected that it would not be love at first sight for my husband.

It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Thomas Savage, whose title is inspired by Psalm 22:21 Protect my soul from the sword, my life from the power of dogs!

We are in the year 1925. At the beginning of the film we hear the words of a young man who decides to protect his mother and devotes himself to her happiness, now that his father is dead.
It is only at the end of the movie that we understand all the implications of this.

Phil Burbank's (Benedict Cumberbatch) behaviour is despicable for the first half of the movie. He lives in the family ranch with his brother George (Jesse Plemons) and some servants. Their parents have moved to the city.

At a post-funeral meal in an inn next to the church, Phil is quick to make unpleasant comments about, among others, the young waiter Peter Gordon (Kodi Smit-McPhee), the son of the landlady Rose Gordon (Kirsten Dunst).
George will apologise to her, when he goes to pay the bill, once all the guests have left.

Phil's behaviour will change in the second half of the movie. He has detected a problem, and seeing that his brother is not dealing with it, voluntarily or not, he will feel the need to deal with it himself. Unfortunately, it seems that there were several related problems and solving one of them can have negative consequences on the others.

Indeed, sometimes when the damage is done, nothing can undo it and the consequences can be fatal.

I couldn't tell if I liked this movie or not. It was quite slow at times, which made the atmosphere pretty heavy. It wasn't supposed to be a happy film, I admit, but I'm not sure I even cracked a smile.

Life on the ranch is tough and this is very much felt in this film. In those days, it was not good to show your feelings either, especially if they did not conform to the norm.

In addition to the actors already mentioned, Keith Carradine plays the role of Governor Edward.

The face of the young Kodi Smit-McPhee looked familiar at me, but he's a very young kid, so I went to look up his Wikipedia entry and saw that he's already 25 (he looks much younger than his age). He started his career at a very young age and I had seen him, when he was 13, in The Road, alongside Viggo Mortensen. He was also seen in the X-Men, as Diablo/Kurt Wagner, but also in Down of the Planet of the Apes, where he played Alexander. He already has quite a few films on his credit, despite his age and his rather unusual look, i.e. a real wire!

Please feel free to share your feelings about this film, because, like after seeing The Piano Lesson, I don't know what to think about it.

See you soon for the films we will have reviewed with the children/teens,

Enjoy the sun and stay safe,

Isiksen

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