The Power of the Dog (Jane Campion, 2021) I was mesmerized from the first frame. Tension and dr
The Power of the Dog (Jane Campion, 2021) I was mesmerized from the first frame. Tension and dread grew from that point. Jane Campion fans may rightly suspect that this is her finest picture; fans of Terrence Malick’s and Paul Thomas Anderson’s pictures will find much to marvel at and compare.Better still, if you go in big (as I do) for the sheer ambiguity of tense, sparse, and freighted dialogue between characters in, for example, Harold Pinter, Henry James, and certain short stories by Shirley Jackson or Robert Aickman, then this is the ideal setting for sitting at the edge of your seat wondering when disaster may strike.Or wondering if you can rely on what is presented, or if you can rely on your assessment of same.Campion juxtaposes the folks in this yarn with vast, sweeping vistas of Very Big Country, as if to demonstrate that, in 1925 Montana, humans were still to some extent facing forces and elements much larger than themselves. Within a few minutes it becomes apparent that large, uncontrollable, and even devastating forces dwell within those humans. So no, this is not a cowboy movie. It’s barely a western. It’s instead an exquisitely calibrated melodrama about how appearances still deceive even the most discerning and calculating observer, even if that observer is a brilliant, furious, scheming, and experienced one who is accustomed to spotting weaknesses and manipulating others.Or especially if. -- source link
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