--- title: "The Power of the Dog: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-power-of-the-dog/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-power-of-the-dog" critics_score: 83 critics_reviews: 25 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Power of the Dog (2021): what the critics said Critics' score 83 from 25 reviews: 23 positive, 1 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics are firmly behind Jane Campion’s western: twenty-three of the twenty-five reviews are positive, and many treat it as a return to form. The praise gathers around Benedict Cumberbatch as Phil, the embittered rancher, whom critics find menacing and vulnerable in the same breath, with several rating it among his strongest work. Campion’s slow control of tension, Ari Wegner’s stark Montana landscapes and Kodi Smit-McPhee’s Peter are the other elements singled out. The reservations are modest and scattered. Total Film finds it meanders, Consequence finds the sustained mood of inevitability oppressive, and The Skinny misses the emotional specificity of Campion’s earlier films. Two reviews go further: Variety judges it impeccably made but programmatic, lacking the poetry of The Piano, while Film Comment finds it literary and borrowed rather than personal, with Cumberbatch edging towards caricature. Both came out of the festival run, and nothing since has followed them; the spread is otherwise narrow. ## Radio Times — Ann Lee Rating 5/5. Campion makes a triumphant return with a ferocious western about toxic masculinity. Cumberbatch delivers a menacing yet vulnerable performance in an unbearably tense masterpiece. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-pufcng/the-power-of-the-dog/) ## The Times — Kevin Maher Rating ★★★★★. 19 November 2021. The critic declares an indecently powerful western that is a triumphant, multifaceted return for Campion and a guaranteed awards frontrunner. They single out Cumberbatch’s mesmerizing and utterly convincing performance as the embittered rancher Phil. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/the-power-of-the-dog-review-cumberbatchs-cowboy-is-mesmerising-b8bpfbhdg) ## Time Out — Olly Richards Rating 5/5. 28 January 2022. Campion returns with one of the best films of her career, a triumph of quiet mystery and devastating storytelling in a patriarchal world. The landscape and character revelations reward repeat viewings. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-power-of-the-dog-2022) ## IndieWire — David Ehrlich Rating A. 2 September 2021. Festival review. The critic calls it a wickedly great, masterfully tense Western drama and a brilliant murderous fable about masculine strength. Singles out Cumberbatch's career-best performance as equal parts menacing and vulnerable. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/the-power-of-the-dog-movie-review-1234660877/) ## Los Angeles Times — Justin Chang Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 16 November 2021. Campion reasserts her mastery with a brilliantly acted, insidiously gripping adaptation that reveals a new side of Cumberbatch in a masterful performance. The film excels in its psychological depth, attention to detail, and subversion of western conventions. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-11-16/power-of-the-dog-review-netflix-cumberbatch-campion) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 17 November 2021. The critic calls Campion’s film a superb gothic western that is mysterious and menacing, one of the director’s best, made with artistry and command. They single out the queasy touches and the way the story hangs with an air of tragedy, dysfunction and horror, like Ibsen. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/nov/17/the-power-of-the-dog-review-jane-campions-superb-gothic-western-is-mysterious-and-menacing) ## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 2 September 2021. Festival review. The critic praises Campion's return with a psychologically complex Western shifting to themes of corrosive masculinity and repressed sexuality. Highlights transfixing performances, especially from Cumberbatch and Smit-McPhee, on an epic canvas. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/power-of-the-dog-review-1235005112/) ## The New York Times Rating Critic’s Pick. 30 November 2021. Campion delivers a staggering take on the western in which a cruel cowboy meets his surprising match. The film explores the inner worlds and tensions among its characters with precision and depth. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/30/movies/the-power-of-the-dog-review.html) ## The Telegraph Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 10 January 2022. The review highlights a blistering, career-best performance from Benedict Cumberbatch as the mercurial fiend Phil in Campion’s dark psychological western. It praises the stark and deadly beauty of the landscapes and the constant sense of prickling intrigue. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/power-of-the-dog-review-best-performance-benedict-cumberbatch/) ## Vulture — Bilge Ebiri Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 2 September 2021. Festival review. The critic hails Campion's triumphant return with a majestic and unnerving Western set in 1925 Montana. Praises the understated storytelling and Cumberbatch's nuanced portrayal of a complex, need-driven character. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/movie-review-netflixs-power-of-the-dog-from-jane-campion.html) ## Empire — Beth Webb Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 19 November 2021. Campion returns with a sensual, layered Western that peels back repression and desire in 1920s Montana. The film is praised for its wounded central character study and striking visuals from Ari Wegner. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/the-power-of-the-dog/) ## Little White Lies — Sophie Monks Kaufman Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 2 September 2021. Festival review. Campion explodes ideas of masculinity in this adaptation, with strong performances and atmospheric tension building to a gripping third act. The film is ambitious and brilliant despite minor flaws in one lead performance. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/festivals/the-power-of-the-dog-venice-film-festival-review) ## Total Film Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 1 December 2021. Jane Campion’s most elegant film in years is a brooding ranch drama with hidden depths. It singles out Benedict Cumberbatch’s shrewd, central performance for praise while noting some meandering tendencies. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/power-of-the-dog-review-netflix/) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 2 September 2021. Festival review. A powerful turn from Cumberbatch anchors this prairie-set period drama that is Campion’s most thoroughly conceived and consistently involving work for years. The adaptation captures dysfunctional family dynamics and repressed desires with nuance. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-power-of-the-dog-venice-review/5162918.article) ## Sight and Sound Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 17 November 2021. Campion delivers a gripping psychodrama that draws out the instability of American West myths through a ranch family feud. The film excels in its slow-burn exploration of repressed masculinity and power dynamics. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/power-dog-draws-out-instability-american-west-myths) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 17 November 2021. Campion’s anti-western is a claustrophobic chamber piece focused on family cruelties and miseries rather than epic scope. The central standoff between characters is tense and compelling, though some performances feel less convincing in the setting. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/11/29/the-power-of-the-dog-is-jane-campions-anti-western) ## Variety — Owen Gleiberman Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 2 September 2021. Festival review. Campion’s psychodramatic western is impeccably crafted with stately precision and strong performances but feels overly programmatic and lacks the passionate, populist poetry of her earlier work like The Piano. The message denouncing homophobia is clear but not revelatory enough. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2021/film/reviews/the-power-of-the-dog-review-jane-campion-benedict-cumberbatch-kirsten-dunst-jesse-plemons-1235054229/) ## Film Comment — Molly Haskell Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 8 October 2021. Festival review. Campion's latest lacks the richly personal feminism of her early films and feels borrowed and literary rather than organic. The ominous atmosphere and Cumberbatch's menacing performance verge on caricature, though the fable-like treatment of unspoken desires has some merit. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/of-gods-and-men-jane-campion-the-power-of-the-dog-molly-haskell/) ## HeyUGuys — Sarah Cook Rating 5/5. 11 October 2021. Festival review. The critic praises Campion's direction and the performances, especially Cumberbatch's as Phil and Smit-McPhee's as Peter, noting the film's exploration of toxic masculinity and its visual impact. Verdict is highly positive, calling it an essential film and Campion on top form. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/the-power-of-the-dog-review/) ## /Film — Chris Evangelista Rating 9/10. 11 September 2021. Festival review. The critic highlights Campion's masterful direction of a subtle, menacing neo-Western, with Cumberbatch delivering a career-best performance as the cruel Phil, and the film's tension-building through details and imagery leading to a powerful conclusion. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/601490/the-power-of-the-dog-review-jane-campions-stunning-neo-western-has-a-career-best-performance-from-benedict-cumberbatch-tiff-2021/) ## Polygon — Robert Daniels Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 December 2021. The critic calls it 2021's best movie so far, an immense portrait of psychological torture and toxic masculinity with awe-inspiring cinematography and complex performances, especially Cumberbatch's. It highlights the film's meditative quality, unexpected emotional depths, and rewarding rewatch value. [Read the review](https://www.polygon.com/reviews/22675046/power-of-the-dog-review-benedict-cumberbatch/) ## Digital Spy — Gabriella Geisinger Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 1 December 2021. The film is a Trojan horse that appears to be a Western but is actually a Gothic psychodrama filled with psychological warfare and unsettling tension. Campion delivers a startling, deeply moving work with Cumberbatch terrifying as the domineering Phil. [Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a38233996/the-power-of-the-dog-review/) ## Consequence Rating B+. 1 October 2021. Festival review. The critic praises Benedict Cumberbatch's superlative performance as the petulant, macho Phil and the film's elegant, unnerving accomplishment as a slow-burn Western about toxic masculinity and power dynamics. It notes the strong ensemble acting but finds the sustained mood of inevitability slightly oppressive at times. [Read the review](https://consequence.net/2021/10/power-of-the-dog-review/) ## The Skinny — Anahit Behrooz Rating ★★★★. 3 September 2021. Festival review. A meticulously engineered exercise in tension and a haunting study of male violence and repression, with forensic storytelling and a chilling Cumberbatch performance that eviscerates the illusion of control. It lacks some emotional depth and gutting specificity of Campion's prior works. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/venice-film-festival-2021-the-power-of-the-dog) ## Deadline — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 2 September 2021. Festival review. Campion has made a complex and probing adaptation of Thomas Savage’s novel about two very different Montana rancher brothers caught in a twisted emotional bind. It is a serious, ambitious, living and breathing work that sticks in the mind and makes one want to examine it from different angles. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2021/09/the-power-of-the-dog-venice-film-review-jane-campion-1234826232/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-power-of-the-dog.md