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The Power of the Dog

2021

Jane Campion

Benedict Cumberbatch, Jesse Plemons, Kirsten Dunst, Kodi Smit-McPhee ...

6.4

23,945

Western. Drama Montana, 1925. Charismatic rancher Phil Burbank inspires fear and awe in those around him. When his brother brings home a new wife and her son, Phil torments them until he finds himself exposed to the possibility of love.

	Author	Review
United States	David Ehrlich IndieWire	"[It] sticks its teeth into you so fast and furtively that you may not feel the sting on your skin until after the credits roll, but the delayed bite of the film’s ending doesn’t stop it from leaving behind a well-earned scar"	POS
United Kingdom	Xan Brooks The Guardian	"[A] beautiful, brawny western (...) It’s the director’s first feature since 2009’s 'Bright Star' and is so confident and well-textured it reminds us what we’ve been missing (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Todd McCarthy Deadline	"'The Power Of The Dog' is the most gorgeous-looking Western set in the early 20th century since 'Days Of Heaven' 43 years ago (...) A serious, ambitious, living and breathing work"	POS
United States	Carlos Aguilar The Wrap	"Benedict Cumberbatch gives perhaps his best performance to date (...) 'The Power of the Dog' thrives on having actors so submerged in the fiction that they are creating a reality."	POS
United Kingdom	Jonathan Romney Screendaily	"Campion’s most thoroughly conceived, consistently involving drama for years (...) Magnificently shot by Ari Wegner (...) All four leads are excellent"	POS
United Kingdom	Nicholas Barber BBC	"What's unique about 'The Power of the Dog' is that it seems at first to be an epic Western, but it becomes a brooding gothic melodrama (...) It's a film which shimmers with intelligence (…) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	David Rooney The Hollywood Reporter	"A work as boldly idiosyncratic, unpredictable and alive with psychological complexity as anything in the revered director’s output"	POS
United States	Tomris Laffly The Playlist	"It’s cinematic poetry, if there ever was one, bourgeoning in meaning the more you linger in its shadow."	POS
United States	Manohla Dargis The New York Times	"[It] builds tremendous force, gaining its momentum through the harmonious discord of its performances, the nervous rhythms of Jonny Greenwood’s score and the grandeur of its visuals."	POS
United States	Owen Gleiberman Variety	"[It] is impeccably crafted but lacks the major voices of 'The Piano' (...) In its crucial last act, the film becomes too oblique"	NEU
United States	Richard Lawson Vanity Fair	"[Smit-McPhee and Cumberbatch] have a peculiar rapport, one that Campion gracefully lets develop (...) [The director] deftly, unnervingly captures a mood"	POS
United States	David Katz The Film Stage	"A film of carefully appointed details (...) It’s more minimal, and as said, word-free than what she’s known for. This is a psychosexual western to savor though"	POS
Canada	Shelagh Rowan-Legg Screen Anarchy	"'The Power of the Dog' bristles with longing and jealousy, at once staring straight ahead and sneaking up behind you, leaving its clues like muddy bootprints tinged with sorrow"	POS
United States	Monica Castillo rogerebert.com	"The game of wits between Phil and everyone else is a chilling one to watch, and it's exactly the kind of end-of-the-year movie to finish things with a bang (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 4)"	POS
United States	Peter Travers ABC News	"Benedict Cumberbatch has never been better (...) 'The Power of the Dog' will put Campion in the record books as the third woman director to prevail in what was once infamously a man's game. It's about time"	POS
United Kingdom	Beth Webb Empire	"The narrative here feels somewhat underdeveloped, but Campion remains a master of sensory storytelling, delivering a scorching study of masculinity rooted in fear (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	John Serba Decider	"The film holds us in emulsified suspense. The threat of violence, the threat of kindness. Either can be keenly terrifying (...) Campion is on point with 'The Power of the Dog'"	POS
United States	Brian Truitt USA Today	"A picturesque, enthralling exploration of male ego and toxic masculinity, crafted by an extremely talented woman and offering enough nuanced bite to keep it interesting till the very end (…) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 4)"	POS
United States	M.N. Miller Ready Steady Cut	"'The Power of the Dog' explores how societal oppression has the unintended consequence of turning marginalized into oppressors with striking results and a rousing visual narrative (…) Rating: ★★★★½ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Katie Rife AV Club	"Haunting, troubling (...) Westerns have also been deconstructing toxic masculinity for ages. But Campion approaches the task with a sensual touch few of her peers possess"	POS
Canada	Mae Abdulbaki Screen Rant	"Gorgeously crafted and detailed, emotionally effective, and layered in shades of meaning about masculinity. Mesmerizing in every way, 'The Power of the Dog' is a triumph (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Richard Roeper Chicago Sun-Times	"Filled with memorable performances, from Cumberbatch in one of his most interesting and layered performances to solid work from Plemons and Dunst, to the amazing portrayal by Kodi Smit-McPhee (…) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 4)"	POS
	Elena Lazic Cineuropa	"'The Power of the Dog' features stellar work from its entire cast, and tells a story more interesting than most star-driven films out there, but it also feels like a bit of a missed opportunity"	POS

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