The Verdict: Campion’s take on the Western is an elegant, sometimes unnerving accomplishment. The movie is so well-constructed that it sometimes feels easier to admire at a slight distance. Campion’s sustained mood of inevitability can feel slightly oppressive - which might seem like an odd thing to say, given that it’s not clear for a long time what, exactly, the movie is building toward, only that whatever it is feels inevitable. In a story focusing on notions of masculinity, Campion refuses to neglect a female point of view.īeguiling: With its Dunst performance and touches of mordancy, The Power of the Dog makes a fine companion piece to the Sofia Coppola-directed remake of The Beguiled, even if it’s depicting a vastly different dynamic.

Wandering around the much bigger house she shares with her new family, her Rose sometimes looks frozen in place, as if she’s stuck in a cold bath and can’t adjust to the temperature.

In the scheme of things, it takes place not too long before cinematic Westerns were popularized and mythologized as mass entertainment on the big screen.ĭunst, meanwhile, gives another terrific performance in her long line of disappointed women. Campion made a Western where some characters are still wearing spurs and cowboy hats, while flapper dresses and automobiles sometimes turn up in the frame, too. Not So Old West: The Power of the Dog takes place in rural Montana in 1925, which amounts to a sort of netherworld between Old West imagery and the well-past-dawned 20th century. When George marries the widow Rose Gordon (Kirsten Dunst), Phil turns his cruelty toward her, as well as her teenage son Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee), in spite of - or is it because of? - some unexpected common ground they share.

It’s a Western of sorts about Phil Burbank ( Benedict Cumberbatch), a self-consciously macho cowboy who hassles his more reserved brother George (Jesse Plemons) on the ranch they own and operate together. The Pitch: Acclaimed writer-director Jane Campion adapts the semi-obscure 1967 novel The Power of the Dog into a feature of the same name. This review is part of our coverage of the 2021 New York Film Festival.

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