| New Zealand, 2021 | Western/Drama | Mainstream | Trailer |
This one was my favourite from the movies I watched this November, and I stumbled into it by chance. Last Wednesday I was overcharged by work, and I had been carrying a big amount of stress since the week before. I reached a moment where I was about to explode, and I forced myself out of home to recover and let the cold air unstress me. When getting near the cinema I usually go, I saw this movie in the roster. I did remember having seen months back a teaser image of Benedict Cumberbatch in a Western setting, but aside of that I never had hear anything else about The Power of the Dog. I took the resolution to enter in spite of my tired body and annoyed mind, and it was the best decision I could take. I felt thoroughly cleansed after the experience.
The Power of the Dog indebts its name from a Psalm in the Old Testament: “Deliver my soul from the sword, My only life from the power of the dog”. The movie tells the story of two brothers sharing a ranch in the Far West in 1925. When one of them falls in love with a woman from the neighbouring town and marries her, his sibling concentrates all his efforts in psychologically abusing and diminishing everything in the life of his new sister-in-law, inspiring a constant fear in her and her son from her previous marriage, a non-“manly” late teenager who somehow provokes a strange reaction in his new step-uncle. One can greatly see the influences of masterworks like Wuthering Heights in this movie’s premise, and the thrill of the plot and the intensity of the human drama depicted here is surely not inferior. This movie had me on the edge of the seat throughout the whole screening and even with the physical and mental tiredness I had, I felt absolutely new after the experience.
As it’s usual in many contemporary works with a rural setting, the Malickian-styled wide shots of landscapes and slow footages where the human figure is reduced compared to the nature surrounding it are usual. It’s clear how much the dry, cold ambiance influences and represents the characters of this movie; and the huge absoluteness of the wastelands presented, combined with the rhythmic, minimalist OST, fill the audience with a magnificent sentiment of awe.
The Power of the Dog is a magnificent filmic work that takes the best from classic storytelling and presents it in the most tasteful contremporary way, squeezing the finest talent from its amazing cast. It’s difficult to find a more well-rounded and weak points-free movie in today’s scope than this. I thoroughly recommend watching it. It’s also in Netflix!
