The Power of the Dog

Moody and mesmerizing, The Power of the Dog, the latest film from auteur Jane Campion, is at once a Western (the beautifully bleak Montana of the 1920s), a psychological drama (virulent - perhaps performative - masculinity contrasted with the fragile paper roses of femininity and sensitivity), and a Gothic mystery (the silent menace of violence, addiction, and abuse that reveals itself in both outbursts of rage and carefully calculated revenge). Visually stunning (Campion’s native New Zealand stands in for Montana) and expertly acted by Benedict Cumberbatch (tense and terse), Kirsten Dunst (forlorn and frail), and Kodi Smit-McPhee (quiet and cunning in ways that are both eerie and redemptive). The score, by Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead fame, also contributes to the unsettling atmosphere. Highly recommended - I want to watch it again to find all the clues!