The Power of the Dog (2021)Movies

So threadbare that its interest has to come from obfuscation, rather than human drama. Because thematically, it’s only giving us subversions of obvious stereotypes. Like, tough guys in the 1920s might have been covering up homosexual tendencies or class embarrassment. Wimpy kids might be as cunning and ruthless as the tough guys. Shocking stuff. And these things play out so slowly that you may be saying, “okay, I get it, let’s move on,” except for the aforementioned obfuscation. Let’s say, for example, you’re distracted during a dark, slow, wordless scene in which Peter approaches a dead cow. Well, you would have just missed an essential element that will never be brought up again. But that’s classic “show, don’t tell,” right? Isn’t that good? Not when its primary...