THE POWER OF THE DOG

Review: Set in 1925. The Burbank brothers Phil and George are wealthy ranchers in Montana. One day George brings home a new wife and her son. Phil behaves so badly towards them that he drives them both to tears. He is cruel to them until he finds himself exposed to the possibility of love.
Director: Jane Campion
Actors: Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Kenneth Radley, Sean Keenan, George Mason, Ramontay McConnell, Cohen Holloway, Alistair Sewell, Alice Englert and Jacque Drew
Year: 2021
Genre: Drama. Romance and Western
Conclusion: 3/5
Filming began on this film on January 10th, 2020 – but due to the COVID pandemic, it was halted until June 22nd. Based on a novel by Thomas Savage. Even though this is set in 1920s Montana, the film is shot on location in New Zealand. I really enjoyed the cinematography in this and thought it was beautifully shot. I actually thought that that best thing about this film was the musical score by Jonny Greenwood. Apparently, both Kirsten Dunst and Benedict Cumberbatch were so into their characters that they did not speak to each other during filming. I have read that Paul Dano was originally cast as George Burbank, but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. Standing in at 2 hours 8minutes I did find this rather too long. Most of the scenes could have been halved. At times I found it really slow moving. At the Golden Globe Awards in 2022 this won 3 awards and they were for Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture (Kodi Smit-McPhee) and Best Director – Motion Picture (Jane Campion). At the Bafta Awards in 2022 this won two awards. They were for Best Film and also Best Director (Jane Campion) At the Academy Awards in 2022 this won one Award for Best Directing (Jane Campion).