An unexpected western gothic excellence

Last year was a year of great movies. Describing the cinematics and aesthetics in words perhaps will never be enough to fully appreciate some of them. With the 2022 Academy Awards being only a month away, it is a good opportunity to take a look at one of the best among the nominees. The Power of the Dog, released in November last year, is a forerunner for the best film award. The nomination is quite well deserved as well. It certainly is an eccentric cinematic take in its genre.

Synopsis

The story of the film explores the lives of two brothers. Both are from the West, living the life of the cowboys. However similar their way of livelihood may be, both brothers are the polar opposite of one another. Their perspectives on life and their philosophies of a better future are the defining factors at each turn of the storyline.

The Power of the Dog is set in 1925 in Montana and was adapted by Campion from Thomas Savage’s novel of the same name. On the surface, the sombre Western is about Phil and George, two very different brothers who live on a ranch that looks like Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven, and how Rose comes in between them. However, the film’s slow pacing seeks to go beyond its typical setting to a significantly more dramatic and complicated conclusion. It is a sprawling portrayal of psychological torment and toxic masculinity set against a foreboding mountain backdrop that confines its protagonists.

Insight

The Power of the Dog is perhaps one of the most compelling and eerie films of its kind. For awe-inspiring, philosophical compositions, cinematographer Ari Wegner uses long lenses to portray the hillsides with as much depth as the highlighted figures. The enthralling music by Jonny Greenwood is almost frightening.

The action takes place in a remote part of Montana, where the Wild West still has a significant mystique. Vehicles are common in cities, but not here. Judges and law enforcement officers are never visible. The long hours men work, the homosocial relationships they share, and whatever they can teach others about life, women, and cattle are all that matters here.

There are no explosive scenes in The Power of the Dog. There are no gunfights or stampedes of animals. Its contemplative nature adds to the abruptness of the finale. However, this is one of those films that begs to be rewatched, and Campion is a filmmaker who rewards repeated viewings. The connective tissues around the narrative’s tendons develop a muscular significance on a second watch, robustness that makes the film’s one major disclosure even more enthralling.

The cast

The film stars only the talented in its cast. Benedict Cumberbatch is known for his range of roles. From Sherlock and Imitation Game to Star Trek and Doctor Strange, he thrives in nearly any role he is given. In this film, his character of Phil Burbank is an antagonistic depiction. We have seen Cumberbatch give an excellent performance of Khan Noonien Singh in Star Trek: Into Darkness. He brings the same energy and more into The Power of the Dog.

Other stars include Jesse Plemons and Kirsten Dunst who are real-life partners. They bring that same chemistry on screen which gives their story much more depth and realism. Kodi Smit-McPhee plays another crucial role that complements Cumberbatch’s Phil. In the process, he gives his own character a narrative much compelling and endearing.

All of the actors involved in the movie did a marvellous job. Each individual conveyed a message and it could not have been conveyed more beautifully and with depth. The entire journey through the film was nothing short of an exquisite sight to behold, thanks to the outstanding performances.

Themes of isolation and toxic masculinity are an ever-tightening rope of seemingly benign incidents in this psychological Western, and they import more terror and significance with each deeper study, entrapping spectators in a memorable spell.