The Power of the Dog

If one makes a character drama then one needs 2 things:

1 Great characters. They succeeded somewhat in portraying true to life characters, with good acting performances.

2 Intense drama. NONE is to be found though. What a bummer.

So what we have here is a polished portrait of good actors in a story that simply never becomes a real human drama. Simply lacklustre. Kinda tedious. Such a pity of the waste of many good actors...

The Power of the Dog was interesting, however I couldn't decipher what it was trying to say. And while the acting from Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, and the rest of the cast is solid, the film seems a little pretentious. I also was distracted by some directorial choices. Perhaps it's because I heard so much buzz about it, but I just feel like The Power of the Dog is overrated.

I watched this movie without any particular expectations, and I was positively surprised!

This is not your usual western, the pace is really slow and I would say that it's one of those movies which are strongly based on the atmosphere more than on the plot. If this kind of movies are of your taste, I strongly recommend watching it.

The director did an amazing job in creating a tense atmosphere since the very beginning, and in keeping it up for the whole length of the screentime. The main characters are complex and well defined, and the actors were perfectly cast. I think this was my favourite performance by Benedict Cumberbatch, who once again proved to be a versatile actor.

Maybe the character that I liked less is Kirsten Stuart's, who in my opinion was a bit too one-dimensional and maybe deserved more lines or screen time, since she happened to be pretty important for the development of the plot.

I liked the twist at the ending, which I wasn't expecting since I didn't read the book the movie is based on.

I came in to this movie with little background (not even a trailer watched) and some interest at the idea of Benedict Cumberbatch playing one of the titans of Americana: the cowboy. I left with deep satisfaction; beautiful cinematography, fantastic acting, and a conclusion that came with a slow unraveling of well placed clues. The conclusion forced a recalling moment of seemingly innocuous hints at what was to come later on, a hallmark of great, subtle storytelling.

Very well made western, Greenwood's atmospheric soundtrack creates great tension to the scenes. Strong performances from Benedict Cumberbatch in a unconventional role and supporting cast impressive, Dunst, Plemons, particularly Kodi Smit-McPhee.

Found the film to be an engaging watch.