Charismatic rancher Phil Burbank inspires fear and awe in those around him. When his brother brings home a new wife and her son, Phil torments them until he finds himself exposed to the poss... Read allCharismatic rancher Phil Burbank inspires fear and awe in those around him. When his brother brings home a new wife and her son, Phil torments them until he finds himself exposed to the possibility of love.Charismatic rancher Phil Burbank inspires fear and awe in those around him. When his brother brings home a new wife and her son, Phil torments them until he finds himself exposed to the possibility of love.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 282 wins & 317 nominations total
- Mrs Lewis
- (as Genevieve Lemon)
- Barkeep
- (as Ken Radley)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaKirsten Dunst worked very hard to learn the piano piece she plays on-screen. She had originally mastered two musical pieces, but one was cut from the final release, much to her chagrin.
- GoofsPeter uses a hula hoop to burn off some of his anger. The modern hula hoop, however, was introduced in 1958. While Native Americans use hoops in traditional dances these are used in very different ways to the modern hula hoop.
- Quotes
[first lines]
Peter Gordon: When my father passed, I wanted nothing more than my mother's happiness. For what kind of man would I be if I did not help my mother? If I did not save her?
I generally don't favour drama films, and the only reason I decided to watch 'The Power of the Dog' is because it received an amazing 562 award nominations (winning 250 so far), and because I like Benedict Cumberbatch as an actor. The film received an incredible 12 Oscar award nominations. So let's look at this film.
Benedict Cumberbatch stars as a rancher, Phil, who runs a ranch together with his brother, George (Jesse Plemons). Phil is insensitive, rude and crude (lets just call him butch!), while George is quite the opposite. George falls in love and eventually marries Rose (Kirsten Dunst). Her son Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is gay - or a faggot, as they call him in the movie. This causes Phil to constantly mock him in front of his workers.
The film does have significant character development and there's lots to read between the lines, since the film tells its story in a very subtle manner. I must be honest, from an entertainment perspective, I wasn't all that entertained. In fact, I was pretty bored for the first 40 minutes. It moves along too...darn...slow...
It really also is uneventful until the final reveal. (well, also not much of a reveal, as you sort of have to guess what they're trying to convey.) Apart from character study, there's hardly anything significant happening here. I was bored - just as I was with the highly acclaimed 'Brokeback Mountain' (although 'Brokeback' was a lot more in your face and not as toned down as 'The Power of the Dog'.)
I can't help but wonder what prompted critics to adorn the film with so many awards. Is the high acclaim truly justified? Or is this overrated? For me, definitely. I agree, the film is beautifully shot with stunning cinematography. The set decoration is also incredibly well done, and the costumes are great. But is it that great a movie? Not for me....
Would I watch it again? No.
- paulclaassen
- Mar 22, 2022
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- El poder del perro
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $35,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $271,009
- Runtime2 hours 6 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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