The Power of the Dog (2021)

 This is a great slow burn of a film.

 It is about two brothers, Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch) and George (Jesse Plemons) who are ranch hands and seem to be different night and day, just as the Randall brothers in Outlander. And then George falls in love with the sensitive cook at a local restaurant, Rose (Kirsten Dunst). Naturally, Phil reacts badly to the news, intimidating her constantly, driving her to the bottle, and while you might think Phil is jealous, halfway through, the film suddenly takes a different direction.

It is after Rose's son, the intelligent Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee) arrives and stumbles onto Phil's secret stash of medical magazines, heavily implying that he's a homosexual and he softens toward Peter and the two bond, despite Rose's attempts at thwarting the match. But the pairing can never be, not just because its 1926 Montana but because like any good adaptation of a novel, a death occurs and it manages to be suddenly though you do eventually piece everything together. 

Now, while the plot seems minor, it is a devastately beautiful coming of age film for young Peter, as well as a good character study for Phil. And the acting matches the complex characters beat for beat. Jane Campion penned (and directed) a wonderful screenplay and the score and cinematography will leave you haunted for days. And with all the subtleties, the film just might actually deserve a second viewing. Grade: A-

Side Notes:

-Probably my only problem with the film is that Thomasin McKenzie, one of the greatest actresses of her generation is painfully underused as the assistant housekeeper. Keith Carradine also has a cameo as the governor.

-It is weird how the brothers call their parents Old Lady and Old Gent, I feel its demeaning.

-Despite Phil's Yale education, he often acts like a barbarian, refusing to clean for a fancy dinner and George can barely tell him to clean as Phil is just so intimidating. It's disturbing. 

-I do wish we were given as to why and how the brothers became ranchers. 

-It seems foolish to burn hides that could have had a better purpose. 

-The reason why Peter doesn't become ill is he uses gloves. A small detail that turns out to be vitally important.