Did you enjoy the film? Please tell us why yes or no.

I can’t say I enjoyed it. The movie was beautifully made but it had a dark theme. 

If yes, what was your favourite part and why?

I liked the cinematography where they showed the vast lands, the mansion in the middle of nowhere. It was supposed to be Montana but I read somewhere that they filmed it in New Zealand.

What do you think it needed to improve?

Actually, it was impeccably done. Very subtle with words unspoken. The actors especially Benedict Cumberbatch was excellent.

Did you enjoy the film? Please tell us why yes or no.

Power of The Dog was highly recommended by [Tatler Philippines editor-in-chief] Anton San Diego. At first, I was quite hesitant because I don't like cowboy and dirt road movies. I gave it a shot. To my surprise, I love the film. Like a book, it's a page-turner. The flow from start to finish was seamless. You don't need to decode actions and interpret them in a million ways. 

If yes, what was your favourite part and why?

Even though Phil's (Benedict Cumberbatch) hand was wounded, he promised Peter (Kodi Smit-Mcphee) that he'd finish the rope. They shared a cigarette which I found erotic. The director did a fantastic job of not getting into a sexual scene. Their erotic actions signal their lust for each other.

What do you think it needed to improve?

The Power of The Dog may not have earned in the box office, but the message of the film is powerful.  The director, Jane Campion, was brilliant in telling the story by not being obvious. The way she makes you think and feel is better than the literal translation of forbidden love.

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Did you enjoy the film? Please tell us why yes or no.

Yes, I have seen The Power Of The Dog and absolutely loved this film.

If yes, what was your favourite part and why?

I must confess that I am a long time Jane Campion fan, and her film The Piano is still one my favourite films to this day. Her allusive yet arresting original visual style is deeply captivating. Throw in Cumberbatch and a setting like Montana, you simply can not go wrong. The Power of The Dog is a beautiful, destructive, twisted and dark film. Despite it being set in 1925, the film also tackles very relevant issues such as toxic masculinity, depression, internal conflict, indemnity conflict, mental health, and the dark desires to seek revenge. Without giving a way too much, I definitely recommend this film to anyone who is looking for a challenge. It is a psychological western that will leave you stunned.

Did you enjoy the film? Please tell us why yes or no.

Enjoy? No.

If not, what do you think it needed to improve?

I felt like The Power of the Dog’s biggest folly (or some would say strength) is its overt self-awareness. While the film’s attempt to revolutionise the Western genre is evident through its psychological and LGBTQ+ themes, it offers a viewing experience as dry and flat as the ranch it was set in. Panning landscapes and picturesque close-ups of horses, muddy hands, hides, and paper flowers felt gratuitous—much like Cumberbatch’s frontal nudity. While I enjoyed Dunst’s amazing performance, it felt like a half-baked version of her acting in Lars von Trier's Melancholia (or to be honest, even Spider-man). Plemons was so under-utilised as well; I resonated more with his character in Breaking Bad! The only silver lining I found was Kodi Smit-McPhee’s nuanced portrayal of a budding sociopath.

All in all, The Power of the Dog felt like a long and winding novel dead set on exercising subtle exposition and ‘showing-and-not-telling’ but didn’t care much for the audience’s experience—which director Campion may have intended all along.

And just like "not-your-brother" Phil Burbank, The Power of the Dog doesn’t care about you and just wants to be left alone and revel in the proverbial mud. But then again, who’s to say that’s even a bad thing?

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