Director: Jane Campion
Screenplay: Jane Campion
From the novel by: Thomas Savage
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Thomasin McKenzie, Genevieve Lemon, Keith Carradine, Frances Conroy, Peter Carroll, Alison Bruce
Country: New Zealand, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, United States
Running time: 128 min
Year: 2021
BBFC Certificate: 12
Director Jane Campion usually centres her films and TV shows, from Sweetie to Bright Star and Top of the Lake, around a female character. With 2021’s Oscar-winning Netflix production The Power of the Dog, this changed; here the focus was on a man.
The Power of the Dog is set in Montana in the 1920s. Brothers Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch) and George (Jesse Plemons) run the family ranch. We follow their growing rift, which grows ever more as George falls in love with widow and inn owner Rose (Kirsten Dunst) after meeting her at a cattle drive that opens the film. Whilst George loves Rose, Phil dislikes and psychologically tortures, as well as her son Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee). Throughout the film Phil is longing for Bronco Henry, a cowboy he idolised, who died many years prior, and Peter gets closer to Phil, seemingly forming both a bond but also being mistreated by him.
That’s the basic setup for a psychological Western drama which encompasses a number of themes, including toxic masculinity (Phil has this to the core) and misogyny, a sense of human connection and isolation. The treatment of characters by other characters is a key part of the film, and the way the characters grow, or not, as the film moves on makes for engrossing drama.
The film plays out like a novel complete with chapters, which works well as it’s based on the 1967 novel of the same name by Thomas Savage. The novel got stellar reviews but failed to sell or find an audience until it was re-released to coincide with the release of the film. The film had a very different fate, adored by many critics it did find an audience, though there are plenty who didn’t warm to the story or its characters. It was nominated for 12 Academy Awards, though only won one: Jane Campion taking home best director.
The four central performances are brilliant. Cumberbatch is sinister throughout, and a nasty piece of work, though also full of longing and loneliness, deeply missing Bronco Henry. Yet it’s his sinister side that plays out more; the way he psychologically tortures Dunst’s character just by the use of music or whistling is beyond creepy, and bordering on a horror film. Plemons and Dunst show their love well with the latter also showing multiple shades as she is put through the ringer, takes to drink and becomes increasingly distressed that her son is seemingly forming a bond with Phil and spending so much time with him. Smit-McPhee is difficult to read throughout, which is the point of his character, but has a very interesting and rewarding arc.
One of the highlights of Westerns is usually the landscape, and that’s no different here – the scenery look gorgeous throughout with the vistas used to striking effect to show a sense of place but also helping with the isolation at play at times. The cinematography by Ari Wegner is astonishingly good. Special mention too for Jonny Greenwood’s beautiful yet ominous score which helps with the mood of foreboding doom and unease.
The story plays out as a slow burner, very much allowing us to time to get to know the characters and their motivations, but builds to an excellent final act and a perfect ending that ties up several loose ends just through the visuals.
The Power of the Dog is a rewarding, gorgeous-looking psychological Western drama, with some wonderful performances, beautiful scenery, and an excellent and foreboding score, all brought together under the masterful and justly Oscar-winning hand of director Jane Campion.
Film: 
The Power of the Dog is released by the Criterion Collection on dual format 4K and Blu-ray on 29th August 2024. It’s previously been released on standalone Blu-ray in the UK. The picture is strong throughout, and the audio is fine.
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
All of the features are from 2021 except for the piece with Annie Proulx, which is from 2022.
Behind the scenes with Jane Campion runs for 27 minutes and features footage of the filming, from the sets being created through to some of the scenes being acted. Storyboards are included too. Campion explains how she came across the book, and other thoughts on the filmmaking process, in a decent but very short interview, with much of the piece focused on behind the scenes footage. It’s a decent, though short extra, which provides a glimpse into Campion’s filmmaking style on set.
Reframing the West features interviews with Campion, together with producer Tanya Seghatchian, actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee, cinematographer Ari Wegner, film editor Peter Sciberras, costume designer Kirsty Cameron, make-up artist Noriko Watanabe, and supervising sound editor Robert Mackenzie. It runs for 28 minutes and is interspersed with behind the scenes footage and clips from the film. There are some insights into the filmmaking process (for example, sections on the production design and costume design), but at times this felt like a promotional piece, running through the story and lots of back slapping.
The Women Behind the Power of the Dog features director Campion, producer Seghatchian, cinematographer Wegner, and actor Dunst, together with filmmaker Tamara Jenkins and is much better. The 23 minute piece is essentially a roundtable and is one of the best extras on the disc. The conversation flows freely and gets under the skin of the film, the process of making the movie, some of the set design and shots and much more.
Another great extra is Anatomy of a Score, in which Campion and composer Jonny Greenwood discuss their collaboration on the music for the film. It’s a 14 minute piece which covers some of the instruments featured in the score including the cello, banjo, piano, and the French horn. I particularly liked the section of conversation about how the cello was played like a banjo. The interview plays over scenes from the film.
The 13 minute 2022 interview with Brokeback Mountain author Anna Proulx, sees the novelist talk about the source material for the film – the 1967 novel by Thomas Savage. She talks about the glowing reviews the book received but how, despite this, it didn’t find an audience at the time of release and sold poorly. She reads from the novel and shares elements from the source material which go further than the film. Another fine extra.
Also included on the disc is a two minute trailer.
The booklet features an essay by Amy Taubin focusing on the fact that The Power of the Dog is Campion’s first feature with a male central character. She shares how the book is fairly faithful to the source material, and the critical reception the film received, amongst other topics in an excellent essay.
The Power of the Dog is a rich, rewarding slow-burn of a psychological Western drama, anchored by four wonderful central performances, an air of dread and foreboding doom and gorgeous cinematography that showcases some beautiful scenery and landscapes. The Criterion Collection port their strong US dual-format 4K/ Blu-ray package to the UK, having already released the Blu-ray only edition of the film on this side of the Atlantic. The audio/ visual presentation is generally great, and there are a couple of insightful extras, though several feel more promotional than usual and it’s not as packed and rich a package as some Criterion editions.
Disc/Package: 
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