By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Jane Campion
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch | Frances Conroy | Geneviève Lemon | Jesse Plemons | Keith Carradine | Kirsten Dunst | Kodi Smit-McPhee | Thomasin McKenzie
Country: australia, canada, new_zealand, united_kingdom, united_states
Year: 2021
Running time: 126
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10293406/reference
Chris says: “Following a decade working mostly in television (TOP OF THE LAKE), Jane Campion returns to feature filmmaking at the top of her game. This adaptation of a Thomas Savage novel set in 1925 Montana (but filmed in New Zealand, like THE PIANO) is a summation of all her strengths, from the striking landscapes and multifaceted, unpredictable character arcs to the feminist perspective she lends to the source material.
“Without giving too much away about this western/thriller, it involves life on the last days of a frontier, familial dysfunction, the strain of keeping and covering up for a secret and the tenacity of wanting to go your own way and utilizing intelligence to your best advantage. There are great performances all around, especially the central conflict between Benedict Cumberbatch’s flinty alpha male and Kodi Smit-McPhee’s unapologetically fey beanpole. Credit Campion, however, for keeping the whole thing in motion, carefully unfolding over two hours without a single wasted scene. 5 cats
(Currently in limited theatrical release. Available on Netflix beginning 12/1.)
Beth says: “So, I was really disappointed by this film. Yes, it was amazingly shot, with really interesting framing choices, and the acting was great. But for me the story was flimsy, heavily reliant on the score to create tension. All but one person was unlikable, and as for the lone holdout, her characterization was confusing to me, with little to no reason given for her personality change. The secret and the twist were neither to me, I thought both were telegraphed very loudly and often, to the point where I laughed out loud at a particular transition, which I would like to think Campion included just for that reaction, because there seemed to be little reason for that portion of that scene.
“The across the board over the top raves just mystify me. I’d give it 3 cats, just barely.”
Michael says: “Very interesting takes on this film… always love a divisive movie. I’m with Chris on this one, I really loved it. I was really surprised at how much this film surrounded me and drew me in. And while I agree that the main character, particularly, was tough to like, I found all the character believable and I felt various ways about them at various time. I also felt the character change that Beth mentioned was quite believable and I was the reason was quite evident… even to the point of Campion pointing another character’s obliviousness to the reasoning in a rather amusing way.
“This was actually the first time I thought Cumberbatch gave a good performance (since Sherlock, at least) and I quite liked Kirsten Dunst quite a bit in a challenging role. I don’t think the secret and twist would come across telegraphed for everyone, but like Beth, I was clued in to the possibility fairly early. As I said to Chris, I knew nothing about this film going in, except for the fact that it was a Western, as was quite surprised at where it ended up. I think Campion is a intriguing filmmaker, and even the films that aren’t as good are interesting to watch. For me, this was both good and interesting to watch, and I would even go so far as to give it 5 cats.”
Nancy says: “This is definitely a fascinating response, Beth. I am sorry to hear it did not match your expectations. POWER OF THE DOG was one of my top films that I saw at TIFF this season (along with WORLD’S WORST PERSON) so I guess that puts me in the same boat as Chris and Michael on this one. The twist is heavily telegraphed abut that did not bother me. I think the score does a lot of work but I also found that to be a virtue in the telling of this story. I am generally not a fan of Cumberbatch so I was pleasantly surprised by his performance. This has strong performances and I think Campion’s direction was superb. It is definitely worth seeing on a big screen if you can. (5 purring cats from me).
Beth responds: “I knew my reaction was an outlier – I was fully prepared for a robust discussion with my friend Joan about it afterwards, but she was as nonplussed and mystified as me afterwards. But after the weekend, she’s come around to liking it, while my reaction’s gone the other way towards full-on meh. I don’t know why it left me cold, but once I realized it wasn’t taking for me, it became a cumulative thing.
“Michael, if by main character you mean Cumberbatch, I liked him the most, actually. Or rather, his character made the most sense. As compared to Dunst’s, who mystified me the most. And I wanted to smack Plemons’ pretty much the whole time.
“I kept thinking of EAST OF EDEN and THERE WILL BE BLOOD throughout – also The Lord of the Rings, distractingly (that’s Rohan, not Montana!)”
Jeff says: “Jesse Plemons is undersung and deserves more recognition. And the way Cumberbatch just disappears into the character, there’s no trace of him left. Wow. I figured out pretty early on where it would end, but the journey getting there was never less than fascinating. Nomination for Jane Campion. And is there no place in New Zealand that’s not achingly beautiful?”