A seemingly endless mirage of depressing not so subtle subtext- The Power of the Dog misses its goals on nearly every mark- never quite finding the balance between its harsh realities and a decent story. I'll be honest and say the only reason I even completed watching this movie was to write my review. The first hour of this film was so incredibly tedious it was quite unbearable to watch at times- and took me 4 attempts to get through. The second half, thankfully, is a lot more interesting- but as with the rest of the film- still lacks a greater point despite its intended actions. Many may criticize me for hating on this film, saying i'm missing the point, but I understand what this film is trying to do completely- rather- I just think it does it quite poorly. It is trying to invoke a subtle nature of depression and mental illness in a time where it was more ill to bring these things to light in society than experience them. Its main problem is that it isn't quite so subtle, if it was any more obvious it'd be a flashing beacon with words on the screen shouting depression. Not to mention its tedious and incredibly dull storytelling hardly find any interesting moments into the later half, and even then, it's still quite a mess. The acting is decent- Cumberbatch and Plemmons are obviously giving it their all- and Dunst is too- but her performance feels overshadowed and too over the top given the films direction to truly deserve any praise. The cinematography is fantastic, and it truly captures the vibe of the films tone and atmosphere, but you still can't help but feel while watching at it that it's a beautiful empty vessel still attempting to find any significance. In the end, The Power of the Dog is another boring Oscar Bait flick, overrated and bound to be forgotten. It has its strengths, but far too little of them to make for a decent watch in any way shape or form.
My Rating: 4.2/10.
My Rating: 4.2/10.