The Power of the Dog (2021) Review
I watched another one of the best picture nominees this past weekend. This time I watched The Power of the Dog. So I wanted to do a review for the movie, let’s get started!
RATING: R (Nudity, Language, and Violence)
WHERE TO WATCH: Netflix
The Good:
For me what I liked most about this movie is that it feels like you have gone back to the 1920s with the way it looks. This is a western set in the 1920s and it feels like it. With the way the costumes to the production design is all great. Jane Campion does a great job of transporting its audience to a different time period. And tied to that, the costume and production design does help the western aspect of it also.
Another positive here are the gorgeous backgrounds for this movie. They shot this movie in New Zealand and some of the shots in this movie look gorgeous. It also ties into what I mentioned before with this movie feeling like a western. They actually shot this stuff in New Zealand not on a stage and no visual effects were used in this movie. I think it also does make certain scenes better.
Another great thing about this movie is the score by Jonny Greenwood and it really does bring the whole movie together, it’s the glue holding it together. And when it needs to be exciting, it’s exciting. When it needs to be deep and more emotional it can be that too. It got nominated for best original score at the Oscars, and it’s one of the best scores of 2021.
And with this movie you have to talk about the performances. And everybody in this movie is really good. In the lead is Benedict Cumberbatch and it’s easy to forget that he’s a great actor. He’s been playing Doctor Strange in the MCU for 6 years now…and that’s really what he’s known for now. But he’s a world class actor that really can act and he’s great at playing this broken and distant cowboy. He just nails all of the dimensions of the character really well. Jesse Plemmons is another stand-out for this movie; his relationship with Cumberbatch’s character is very interesting and personal.
Finally, the movie does have plenty of emotions running through-out. Especially in the last 5-10 minutes of the movie it is fairly emotional and could bring out some big emotions depending on the person. But even earlier in the movie it is fairly emotional and heartfelt.
The Bad:
And the big thing here is that none of these characters are all that likable. Like sure, they played very well. I can see why they got Oscar nominations. But they are written to be so distant and broken that it’s hard to root for any of them. Benedict Cumberbatch’s character isn’t very likable, and you don’t really like his character. I know that’s how he’s supposed to be written, but as the lead character it’s a bit of a problem.
Also this isn’t necessarily something that the movie did wrong, but it is a very slow paced and slow burn western movie. There isn’t any action in this movie, there aren’t shootouts with cowboys. It’s a character based drama that is a western. And the movie is only 2 hours and 7 minutes long, but it felt like 20-30 minutes longer. So I wish they either made things move quicker or cut 20-30 minutes from the movie.
Final Thoughts: In general, The Power of the Dog is a good movie but not a great one. I can see why some people would love this movie and it’s a top tier 2021 movie. But as for me, I think it’s good western with great set pieces, performances, and score. But the movie is a bit too slow for my taste. So if you like slow burn westerns, then you will like this movie.
The Score: 8.3/10 (B
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