The Power of the Dog (2021) Screenplay written and Directed by Jane Campion, based on the novel of the same name (which I haven’t read) by Thomas Savage.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001pvtv/the-power-of-the-dog

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Power_of_the_Dog_(film)

 Jane Campion is a Hollywood name. She might not have the leverage of say Brad Pitt or George Clooney, but mostly, when she wants to make a movie, producers find the finance and it gets made. The Power of the Dog won many plaudits on its release.

I found it watchable. The sets were fabulous and everything looked and sounded just about right. Phil Burbank (Benedict Cumberbatch) who revels in his nasty, unwashed cowboy persona and his ability to dominate all around him, including his brother, George (Jesse Plemons) plays the master of their ranch in Montana in 1925, and screams Oscar-winning performance.

His nemesis isn’t just a pretty face, Rose (Kirsten Dunst). A widow who runs a boarding house and restaurant after the suicide of her doctor husband. George finds her weeping after Phil’s particularly brutal belittling of her effeminate teenage son Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee) while serving dinner to their cowboy crew.

George marries Rose and takes her to their ranch house. Phil labels her a gold-digger. They are certainly wealthy enough for Peter to go to medical school and the governor and his wife to come to their ranch for a meal.

These scenes are labelled ACTS which made the film seem rather pretentious. Another three acts remained. Phil’s fixation with the man’s man and real American cowboy—who taught him and George everything they know—Bronco Henry is a façade which begins to unravel when the effeminate Peter takes a break from his studies and comes to live on the ranch.

Rose’s alcoholism seemed plausible. This isn’t Brokenback Mountain and it seemed contrived, which is another way of saying, not really my type of film.   

https://amzn.to/48khBJ5