With its lax pacing and sparse ambience, 'The Power Of The Dog (2021)' has a really weird energy to it. It's quiet, too quiet, and underplayed in almost every aspect. It's as disquieting as it is drawn out, a slow-burning drama with a fairly big payoff but no real indication that it's ever going to have one. Solid performances, confident direction and an assured screenplay fall victim to a meandering pace, dampening their effect even as they relate to the purposefully (and perhaps unexpectedly) methodical nature of the narrative. The point isn't that the picture falls totally shy of the mark, just that it doesn't quite reach its potential; it isn't as thrilling as it could have been, nor as unsettling, sensual or resonant. It is effective in fits and starts, especially as it nears its finale, and it does retroactively make its seed planting seem all the more necessary, but it's kind of boring in places (or at least dull) and could've used a bit of tightening up overall. Still, its western aesthetic is palpable, with its horse-fly-filled milieu practically leaking into your living room, and its wide shots are simply beautiful. New Zealand stands in for Montana to stunning effect, that's for sure. Cumberbatch's antagonist (though it's arguable if there's even a specific protagonist for him to antagonise, he just grates on everyone) is an absolute dog of a bloke, an insidious thorn in the side of anyone who threatens to disturb his way of life. A lot of this probably comes from the fact that he has to (or feels as though he has to) repress his true nature every moment of every day, even if he's doing it unconsciously. His evils are so subtle and so domestic that they're all the more disturbing; you really feel sorry for those that are forced to endure his fury. His interactions with the other more likeable characters are the most interesting parts of the entire affair. Who'd have thought a piano-banjo duet could be so ruthlessly devastating? Overall, there's a lot to like about the picture and it's undeniably well-made in every aspect. It's rather forgettable, though, and it isn't particularly gripping (at least not in the conventional sense). It's good, but not great.
Review of The Power of the Dog
