OSCAR ROUNDUP #2 - 'The Power of the Dog'

Once again, like with "Nightmare Alley", we have an ensemble period piece. This time, the story centers around four characters on a ranch in Montana in 1925. Benedict Cumberbatch and Jesse Plemons play Phil and George Burbank, two brothers that run a highly successful ranch. George is a soft-spoken and generous man while Phil is a rough-and-tumble and highly temperamental man.

One day, George becomes smitten with a waitress, Rose Gordon, played by Kirsten Dunst. They eventually marry and she moves into the ranch. Phil, unfortunately, is an uncontrollably manipulative person who doesn't trust Rose and tortures the young woman. Initially, he also makes fun of her more effeminate son, Pete (Kodi Smit-McPhee), before he also eventually starts to get close to the young man, though this is also suggested to be a manipulation to torture Rose.

To say much more would be to spoil the movie more than I've already had to, so I'll stop there with the synopsis. The first thing that I'll say is that if you don't like a slow burn psychological drama, then this movie is not for you. The movie methodically takes its time and you might find yourself wondering where any of this is going but it definitely gets there and sticks the landing by the end.

Now, this is the movie that is leading the charge in Oscar nominations this year with 12 nominations overall. It's the odds on favorite to win the big prize that is Best Picture. Also, I have no idea why they only gave Dunst a Best Supporting Actress nomination. It definitely should have been for Best Actress, especially when considering that it is Rose and Phil who face off the most in the movie and it is their conflict that drives the story.

While I don't necessarily know if the movie deserves the Best Picture award, the film's four leads definitely deserve their awards should they win in their categories. The performances all around are top notch, including Cumberbatch and Smit-McPhee.

Another aspect of the movie that works is the cinematography and setting. Now, director Campion couldn't actually shoot in Montana due to budgetary constraints, so she opted to shoot in her native New Zealand instead. She and her cinematographer, Ari Wegner, definitely did a great job of recreating Montana as I wondered if they actually shot on location or not. I'll be very surprised if Wegner doesn't win Best Cinematography.

After finishing the movie, I realized that I couldn't stop thinking about it. The movie has several layers that open up over time, including themes of jealousy, rage, and repressed sexuality. I didn't know what to expect from this movie as I had not seen much about it until I actually saw it, but this was not the film I thought I'd be getting.

Thankfully, though, it turned out to be quite the compelling drama and one that stuck with me long after I was done with it. Again, if you don't like extremely slow burns, then you may not like this one. However, beyond that, I can't think of too many other reasons for why you shouldn't watch this pretty incredible film from Campion and co.