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Rating: Q=8, P=7 / Obsession
Scale 1=4, Scale 2=4, Scale 3=4, Scale 4=3
Western setting, Complex Relationships, Psychological, Thriller
Eerie, beautiful, depressing, and especially unnerving, The Power of the Dog is magnificent filmmaking that left me thinking about the story and its meanings for days after watching. In graduate school I studied coming of age and masculinity in film, so I was especially captivated by this story. The center and soul of The Power of the Dog is masculinity--what it is and was, what it should be or shouldn't be. It's also about change and loss, about the death of a certain way of life and a life that can't be authentic. Nothing is simple about these characters or their story. Who is good? Who is bad? Who is right? Who is wrong? It changes more than once. It also appears to be a Western, at first, but only because it is set in Montana on a ranch. It appears to be a romance, at times, but it certainly isn't. And the atmosphere and tension that builds throughout the film--aided by some absolutely brilliant score and cinematography--makes it a thriller without most of the usual thriller trappings. I love The Power of the Dog because it is complex, perhaps a bit confusing, deliberately ambiguous, and relentlessly unsettling. Just like humans and our societies. Powerful and captivating.
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