The Power of the Dog

Full review: https://www.tinakakadelis.com/beyond-the-cinerama-dome/2021/12/28/not-quiet-on-the-western-front-the-power-of-the-dog-review The film centers on two brothers, Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch) and George Burbank (Jesse Plemmons) in 1925 Montana. They’re wealthy ranchers who are polar opposites. Where Phil is brutal and ruthless, George is kind and quiet. Their relationship splinters when George marries Rose, a widow (Kirsten Dunst). Campion makes you believe that this is where the meat of the movie will be, in this fractured brotherly relationship, and for a while it is. It’s a fascinating look at two versions of masculinity at odds with each other in a world that could be considered the peak of masculinity. I couldn’t help but think of Kelly Reichardt’s First Cow and Andrew Haigh’s Lean on Pete, two lovely movies grappling with the same concept of masculinity in the harshness of the American West.