The Power of the Dog (2021)

Phil Burbank won’t bathe, won’t wear gloves and won’t let anyone forget how much smarter he is, and Benedict Cumberbatch plays him with such coiled meanness that the room tightens when he walks in. The problem is that Jane Campion builds the whole movie around that tension and lets everything else go quiet. Kirsten Dunst starts strong as Rose, a widow making a new life, then gets pushed to the sidelines as her nerves give out. The pace is slow, and some viewers will check out before it clicks. But the craft is extraordinary. A scene where Phil answers Rose’s piano practice with his banjo from the next room is one of the creepiest bits of bullying you’ll ever see. Kodi Smit-McPhee’s Peter, thin and still, gets more interesting every minute. Theaters barely saw it: $271,009 worldwide. An 8.1 because it’s a slow burn that pays off if you bring patience. $3,744 says you fold a paper napkin into a flower at your next dinner out, just to see who gets weird about it.

What works: Benedict Cumberbatch’s coiled, cruel Phil and Kodi Smit-McPhee’s eerie stillness, plus a final stretch that makes you rethink everything.

What doesn’t: Rose and George fade into the background as the film goes on, and the slow pace will lose some viewers early.

Who it’s for: Patient viewers who like westerns as psychological puzzles and don’t mind a slow burn.