11/27/21 - Power of the Dog - 8-/10
I was a little unsure about the film when it began, as I waited to be blown away, but like a creeping infection it slowly but assuredly poisoned me with its brilliance. It contained a slow developing complexity and richness; a magisterial path to righteousness, as to climb the stunning mountains in the craggy dog shadowed vistas. I fell in love with its depths and passions, both in the held breaths and the violent exhalations.
Prepare yourself for the most malevolent saddle rubbing maybe ever and the best malicious whistling this side of Kill Bill. Similarly there is the constant sobering whine of the venomous violins, creaking and clawing at the spurned edges of the drama. But they all work in service of the sinister atmosphere that Cumberbatch’s rancorous character exudes. Its unsettling in all the right ways as he nails the understated dominion not only of the action but of the screen.
Now the complexities therein of Cumberbatch must remain untold, divulged only as revelation to the viewer. A feverish sociopath or a lonesome self-loathing & broken-hearted gay man, the character written and executed performance masterfully provide vittles for the meal of the movie. Smitt-McPhee shakes out the additional seasoning to ripen and fulfill this feast as he sublimates himself as to the other side of the coin - understated, underknown, and unscrupulous.
The cinematography, like the characters, is rich and layered. Brilliant and poignant, if you have the eye to see what lurks in the absence as much as the fullness. A disturbing slow boil of a film that ingeniously nails its intentions and works its way into your body & soul.
