Fringed shirts, twangy accents, and hyper-masculine cowboys, Jane Campion's Western psychological drama was a record-breaking feature in 2021. Based on Thomas Savage's 1967 novel, The Power of the Dog became the first film directed by a woman to be nominated for over ten Academy Awards and made Campion the first woman to be nominated twice for Best Director. Now three years after its debut, The Criterion Collection has released a 4K DVD with new special editions.
In 1925 Montana, brothers Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch) and George (Jesse Plemons) Burbank are wealthy ranchers, isolated and lonely, herding cattle through the dusty mountains. On route, George is charmed by the widowed innkeeper Rose Gordon (Kirsten Dunst). Once married, he brings Rose and her son, Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee) back to live at his family's ranch. Here starts Phil's cruel agenda of intimidation. Rose's arrival provokes an increased aggression in Phil, unleashing a sustained torrent of emotional abuse to batter the new bride's mental state. Then, when the vicious tyrant takes gangly Peter under his wing to teach him how to be a “real man”, fear almost obliterates her sanity completely.
Cumberbatch is superb as the rough menacing bully. Scornful of his brother's desire to seek connection with others, Phil retreats inwards, using his gruff hostility as a defence, “I stink, and I like it.” The close-up of a key turning in a lock is symbolic of Phil's otherness and his internal battle of repression which makes the love that George and Rose share, an impossibility for Phil. A rare tenderness is shown for his late mentor, Bronco Henry, his admiration conceals more vulnerable feelings. The success of The Power of the Dog hinges on how Cumberbatch lets us catch glimpses of Phil's soft interior, while still making the audience feel like we are suffocating through the screen in sympathy with Rose.
Jonny Greenwood's dramatic stress-inducing score creates a sinister tension using pizzicato notes. These plucked strings empathetically reflect Rose's unease, merely the threat of violence being sufficient to destroy her wellbeing. Though Phil is particularly monosyllabic, he uses sound to dominate the household. In The Power of the Dog, the harm inflicted in these Western-style standoffs is not caused by guns, but by instruments. Phil's weapon of choice: his banjo. Taunting Rose with his musical proficiency, he responds to her clumsy recital with a perfect rendition of the tune, audibly affirming her inferiority. Through the rattle of spurs and his joyless whistling, Phil's bullish presence pervades the house, an incessant reminder of the simmering brutality that is on the brink of bubbling over.
Ari Wegner's cinematography captures the vitality of the environment, the crisp grass bristling around George and Rose's legs as they box step, and the everyday occurrence of light filtering through the clouds looks divine. The way windows are used to frame the action or square off a section of the terrain situates the story as a minute fragment in time. The mountain is almost a character in itself, an omnipresent force looming over the events with a resigned neutrality. The cinematic scope of the landscape elicits contradicting emotions. At first, the expanse may inspire relief in the characters that there is something bigger than themselves. At other times, the vast peaks may reflect their feelings of overwhelming emptiness and despondency.
The Power of the Dog isn't trying to trick us. Peter's voiceover which opens the film and foreshadows its grisly destination, plainly states his intentions. Even though we are presented with this from the beginning, why does the final reveal still feel like a gut punch? Campion trusts in the intelligence of the audience to catch the subtleties skilfully communicated by her actors. Together, they harmoniously imbue the characters with a rich emotional depth that makes the feature a masterclass in storytelling.
DIRECTOR-APPROVED 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
- 4K digital master, approved by director Jane Campion, with Dolby Atmos soundtrack
- One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
- Interview with Campion about the making of the film
- Program featuring interviews with members of the cast and crew and behind-the-scenes footage captured on location in New Zealand
- Interview with Campion and composer Jonny Greenwood about the film's score
- Conversation among Campion, director of photography Ari Wegner, actor Kirsten Dunst, and producer Tanya Seghatchian, moderated by filmmaker Tamara Jenkins
- New interview with novelist Annie Proulx
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- English descriptive audio
- PLUS: An essay by film critic Amy Taubin
The Power of the Dog is out now
