Power of the Dog is one of the main contenders for the Oscar. And this western will be close to everyone

Oscar and Palme d'Or winner Jane Campion's film at the Cannes Film Festival will be released on Netflix on December 1st. After the premiere in Venice, critics praised the film "The Power of the Dog", suggesting that it will receive many awards in the upcoming season.

Campion took the Thomas Savage novel of the same name as a basis and turned it into a very touching and controversial drama that will hook viewers in any country. After all, "The Power of the Dog" is dedicated to heroes who cannot find their place in life. Moreover, the director presents the story ambiguously, leaving everyone room for thought and their own conclusions.

The tragedy of the lost people

Brothers Phil and George Burbank (Benedict Cumberbatch and Jesse Plemons) own a large ranch in 1920s Montana. Relatives differ greatly both in appearance and in character. George dresses stylishly, drives a car and tries his best to get into high society. Phil does not accept progress and even refuses to wash in the bath. But he is an excellent manager of the economy.

The brothers begin conflicts after George marries the widow Rose (Kirsten Dunst), whose husband committed suicide due to alcoholism. But the situation is exacerbated even more by the woman's son Peter (Cody Smith-McPhee), who seems completely unfit for life on the ranch. However, it is Phil who will become the closest person to him.

At first glance, it may seem that "The Power of the Dog" will play up quite familiar and standard ideas westerns. Not so long ago, Jacques Audiar's The Sisters Brothers came out about two brothers who always quarrel. And how adherents of the old order face progress, they have been filming for decades: just remember the unusual scene with a bicycle in the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

But if you study the filmography of Jane Campion at least a little, you can guess that she will not remain within the genre framework. All her paintings, right down to the award-winning Piano, always tell about the personal tragedy of people. And "Power of the Dog" is no exception. After all, all four main characters, in fact, are in the same difficult situation.

So, George's attempts to separate from his brother and the ranch look ridiculous: they do not bring any result, only provoke conflicts. Rose cannot find her place in the new family and household. Her behavior is constantly changing: she either tries to be closer to the servants, then she simply closes in herself and corny drunkards.

It's even more difficult with Peter. This character has more hidden demons than others. He wants to be a doctor and scares those around him by dissecting a rabbit in his room. He differs from the rest both in appearance and in behavior. He clearly has no place in such a society. Although the question will gradually arise: where in general can he feel himself? Everything is too confused in the head of a teenager.

But the main deception is hidden in the character Cumberbatch. After all, Phil at first glance seems absolutely simple and straightforward. At first, he is presented almost as the main antagonist of the picture: the hero, as if out of harm, interferes with the happiness of his loved ones. But gradually it will be revealed that it is he who is injured more than others. And the closeness of Phil and young Peter is the most touching part of the story. After all, one is constantly being bullied for his strangeness, while the other diligently hides them behind a feigned callousness. The story of attempts to join a society that condemns human peculiarities sounds equally relevant both in the entourage of the early 20th century and a hundred years later.

It turns out that in fact, in this story, as in life, there are no one hundred percent good and bad people. It's just that everyone is unhappy in their own way and copes with difficulties to the best of their ability. The future does not seem so bright anymore, and the past does not seem so dark and rough.

Metaphoricity and understatement

According to the previous description, "Power of the Dog" may seem like a tearful drama. But the big plus of the picture is that most of the experiences here are not served head-on. The viewer will not be told directly about Phil's attitude to his brother's wife, or about his secret hobbies.

First of all, this adds realism to what is happening. After all, quite often in the cinema, heroes begin, without any particular reason, to reveal their most secret thoughts to everyone they meet. It is unlikely that a person would have done this, fenced off from the world for years.

But this approach also allows you to better feel the tragedy of the situation. The four heroes are in the closest bonds, but cannot share emotions. On a huge ranch, everyone is lonely, feels as uncomfortable as possible and tries to hide from others: some in a room with a bottle, some on eternal business trips, and some in a secret, almost children's shelter.

The images and metaphors with which Campion generously complements the action help to immerse yourself in the world even better. At first, some of them may seem even too deliberate and funny. Like the night scene where Cumberbatch's character frenziedly rubs his saddle at night.

But gradually all these oddities will add up into one coherent story. And it turns out that there was not a single superfluous element in the picture.

Unusual looks and great style

Of course, many will be attracted to the viewing by a bright cast, led by Benedict Cumberbatch. And fans will definitely be delighted with the grace with which the camera captures the characters.

For Cumberbatch, Power of the Dog is the third release in a year (even the fourth in Russia: Spy Games was released in March). Moreover, the actor is not famous for radical changes in appearance like, say, Joaquin Phoenix or Christian Bale. But at the same time, he surprisingly does not turn into a Western analogue of Alexander Petrov: the artist is different all the time. For example, Cumberbatch in Reign of the Dog is completely different from his character from recent "Louis Wayne's Feline Worlds». The modest and funny character was replaced by a shabby rude man with a possessed look.

He loves his camera the most. The director singles out many strange, almost phantasmagoric scenes to the actor. At the same time, Cumberbatch was clearly not spared, coming up with an image. What is the only moment when his character, completely naked, is rubbed with dirt.

A couple of Jesse Plemons and Kirsten Dunst do not seem to need to get used to the role. In real life, spouses very easily play a couple in love at the beginning of the picture. Moreover, the actors in some moments seem to confirm the belief that even the facial expressions of close people become similar. And the more tragic is Rose's reincarnation in the second half of the plot. With all the difference in genres, it is difficult not to recall the heroine Dunst in "Melancholy" Lars von Trier.

Plemons confirms his status as one of the most interesting character actors in recent years. It seems that his characters are simple, but they are always remembered and seem as alive as possible. No wonder Plemons was so fond of Scott Cooper, and Martin Scorsese.

It is also nice to see that Cody Smith-McPhee is not at all lost against the background of his more high-profile colleagues. Of course, the young artist already has a pretty good filmography: he played in one of the X-Men parts, and in the author's "The Road" by John Hillcoat, and in the teenage movie Let Me In. But still, here he is given no less time than the rest of the actors. And it is the "Power of the Dog" that can become the finest hour of Smith-McPhee.

But the matter is not limited only to bright heroes and images. Jane Campion managed to create an absolutely incredible atmosphere on the screen. On the one hand, the heroes live in the real world. True, it is difficult to say how plausibly the times are reflected (only experts will appreciate this), but what is happening does not seem like a toy. The director takes the Western surroundings, but abandons all genre elements: there will not be a single action scene or shootout.

On the other hand, Eri Wegner's camera (she shot "Lady Macbeth" with Florence Pugh and Strickland's very aesthetic horror film "Little Red Dress") finds beauty in the most everyday and even frightening moments. The cameraman seems to be able to beautifully capture anything: swaying grass, bathing naked workers, a silent lost heroine. And turning rope weaving into an almost erotic spectacle is a separate skill.

The final component of the atmosphere is the music of Johnny Greenwood from Radiohead. The cello, which is popular today, creates a nervous atmosphere. Moreover, with the help of sound, they reflect the mood of each of the characters. And, by the way, it was the composer who came up with the idea of ​​adding Johann Strauss, the father, to the plot of Radetzky's March. The familiar melody, performed by a duet of out of tune piano and banjo, turns into the leitmotif of Rose's madness.

"The Power of the Dog" is a deep drama in which the director takes elements of a western, but tells an important and understandable story for everyone. Lost characters like this could still exist today, and so they want to empathize. A deliberate departure from the melodrama makes the picture only more interesting. After watching it, you will probably want to think it over, discuss it with someone, or turn it on again. This is exactly how good cinema works: it does not let go even after the final credits, and then it is completely projected onto real life.