MOVIE · 2021

The Power of the Dog

DramaRomanceWestern128 min

Phil Burbank rules a 1925 Montana ranch with swagger and cruelty, and when his quieter brother George brings home a new wife, Phil turns the household into a campaign of intimidation. Benedict Cumberbatch is Phil, whose rough charisma masks a mean streak; Jesse Plemons's George marries Rose (Kirsten Dunst), a widow trying to find her place, while her reserved son Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee) draws Phil's attention next. Against the routines of ranch work and family meals, the film follows a tense domestic battle shaped by humiliation, desire, and the rigid ideas of masculinity that govern life on the property.