Usually you’ll get enough depth for one or two – but here Campion makes sure no expense is spared to cover them all.ĭirector of photography Ari Wegner has been quietly building her reputation lately as one of the best working in the business, and her unique approach to cinematography leads to an absolutely stunning film that caters as much as possible to the biggest screen you can watch it on. Thomasin McKenzie appears for a quick cameo but makes the most out of every scene she’s in – able to feel as chameleonic in the setting as every other actor involved, they all play their characters like you can imagine them existing as their own real people after the director has yelled “cut” in this world, and few films have the depth to do that nowadays with every cast member. His in-built chemistry with his real-world wife Kirsten Dunst is impeccable in a Fargo reunion, and Kodi Smit-McPhee rounds off an impressive series of performances that you could argue awards recognition should be on the cards for every single one of them. We get a deep insight into how his character works when opposite his brother and the vast differences in personality between them – and Jesse Plemons, one of the best working actors around, delivers his A-Game in this like pretty much the entire cast. Strange didn’t help either, but he’s grown more and more experienced with time playing that character and he steps into the role superbly here in a completely transformative performance that will dispel anything else that he’s ever done in your mind – the accent may not wholly be convincing but the two-dimensional portrayal of the charismatic Phil Burbank is fascinating, he’s able to inspire both fear and respect in equal measure as a rancher – living life on the open prairie and terrain. It’s a quieter, sombre film that requires patience – but is absolutely worth the ride.īenedict Cumberbatch is an actor who I’ve struggled with over the past few years and have never truly felt he’s been able to shake the Sherlock comparisons – him being the weakest link in Dr. Jane Campion is one of cinema’s most legendary directors and The Power of the Dog is one of her best works so far – a western that’s unlike anything other in the genre you’ve ever seen before, a slow-burn character study that feels more at home with The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward of Robert Ford than Django Unchained or The Harder They Fall, a quieter approach that looks inward rather than outward, exploring themes such as masculinity, both toxic and not, and the gender/power dynamics offset against the backdrop of repression and sexuality.
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