Friends, “The Power of the Dog” is one of the most talked-about and decorated films of the past year, garnering twelve Oscar nominations, including best picture, best actor, best-supporting actor, best-supporting actress, and best director.
It is indeed a fine film to look at, the acting is uniformly marvelous, and the story is brooding and tautly rendered. At the same time, it’s a movie that leaves the viewer (or at least this particular viewer) a bit confused, and more than a little uneasy. Many have in fact debated what exactly was going on as the picture came to its conclusion.
“The Power of the Dog” is a meditation on family, friendship, repressed sexuality, and, above all, the way that powerful people come to manipulate and abuse one another. It is precisely the manner in which Jane Campion, the crafty director, presents this last theme that I analyze in my most recent video.