The Power of the Dog 4K 2021 Ultra HD 2160p

Story Movie

1920s. Brothers Phil and George own Montana's largest ranch. Despite their kinship and their business together, they have little in common: Phil is rude, doesn't like to bathe, and never misses an opportunity to humiliate the weak, while George is quiet, polite, and prefers to run his business quietly. When George marries local widow Rose, who has a teenage son, Phil cannot accept it.

Review 4K Movie

This film is an example of how difficult it is to bring a slow and dragging book to the screen and that the screenplay and the novel are not the same thing. What is the difference? In a novel, you can talk as much as you want about the inner feelings of the characters, their torments and sufferings. In the script, be specific, especially if you write an "American" - today is the accepted format. You can open such a script and there will be specific references to the hero's actions, because cinema expresses the inner world of its characters through actions, and the dialog is also an action.

Thomas Savage's novel The Power of the Dog was written in the '60s, and it is about the '20s. It is the story of two wealthy brothers who own a ranch. Phil is a smart and feisty hard worker, and George is a quiet one. The brothers don't look like each other, but nevertheless they are united by a common cause. Everything changes when George gets married - now Phil will ruin his brother's life, he doesn't like his spouse at all.

Unfortunately, the unhurried description of the lives and relationships of the two brothers does a poor job of keeping the audience's attention. The story itself is certainly interesting, but it lacks cinematic devices. That said, the actors are well chosen. Benedict Cumberbatch is going for a record number of roles given out in a single year, but despite the volumes, he looks good as Phil - a gruff, yet intelligent man - a very different image than in the previous film, Louis Wayne's Cat Worlds.

Jesse Plemons looks even better. He generally has a peculiar way of acting - remember the cop from "Night Games" or Jake from Charlie Kaufman's "I'm Thinking About Ending It All" - Jesse's way of being stingy with emotion, serious and incomprehensible expression works perfectly in case of brother George in "The Dog's Power".

And Kirsten Dunst quite convincingly portrays a drinking woman who gets caught up in the squabble between the brothers. Plus, the actress is actually married to Jesse Plemons - the on-screen spouses are spouses in life as well.

How many times have Netflix managers said in their speeches that a movie or series must grab the viewer from the first minute, otherwise the viewer will walk away from the TV out of boredom. What's there to lose? Movies are paid for by subscription and there is no motivation to sit through a dreary movie until the end. It would be interesting to see how many of those who started watching Power of the Dog will finish it, but such statistics are unlikely to be published.

But if it is not a movie, then what is it? The answer to this question can be given by the award received at the Venice Film Festival for directing. The film was directed by New Zealand filmmaker Jane Campion and it's not her first award, she has a branch from Cannes and an Oscar.

Critics love Jane and some even call her one of the best directors of our time - and here we come to an interesting fork where festival and audience cinema diverge in different directions. "Power of the Dog" is a professional work, with excellent actors and meticulously shot. But unfortunately, this film is completely boring to watch.