Review by Signet

Although The Power of the Dog has received highly positive reviews on this site and others I must demur. I found the story and the pace of the movie to be so dragged out that I had to fight bouts of boredom to watch it to the finish and this in spite of the earnest performances by the actors in roles that were, sometimes, just plain silly. In particular I found Kirsten Dunst's character to be wholly unsympathetic, clearly not the intention of the writers or the director. As for Benedict Cumberbatch, what was most remarkable about his performance was how expertly he was able to slip into the walk and accent of an early 20th Century American cowboy, albeit one supposedly with an Ivy League education. Otherwise what he gives to the role was very often only grimaces and glares and not the Oscar-class acting described by many other reviewers. For this, I blame the director and not Mr. Cumberbatch.

What I took away from this movie is that one must come to it already a Jane Campion devotee and she delivers what her fans want from her. As one who isn't caught up in her hype, I did not like this movie much at all.