THERE WILL BE JIBES (THE POWER OF THE DOG)

Jane Campion wouldn't be the first director you'd expect to see delivering a Western.

But then again, Benedict Cumberbatch wouldn't be the first actor you'd expect to appear in one either.

Yet here they are delivering one of the most powerful movies of 2021.

Winner of the Silver Lion at this year's Venice Film Festival, 'The Power of the Dog' is a stunning meditation on male bravado and features a towering performance from Cumberbatch that should be a big contender at next year's Oscars.

Adapted by Campion from Thomas Savage's 1967 novel of the same name, Cumberbatch is Phil Burbank a wealthy, misanthropic cowboy who owns a ranch in Montana with his brother Jesse Plemons' George who he often berates in public and calls Fatso.

Marking 25 years as ranchers, Phil insists on a celebration and takes the soft spoken George and the crew to an inn run by Kirsten Dundst's Rose Gordon.

Rose's son, Kodi Smit McPhee's Peter has an artist's touch and makes paper flowers that adorn each table.

Noticing these, Phil enquires who made them and then ridicules Peter in front of his crew for his effeminate manner and his lisp.

George, however, is taken with Rose and starts to woo her.

When he eventually marries her, Rose packs Peter off to college to study medicine.

Aghast that Rose is now living with them, Phil makes it his mission to undermine his sister-in-law - believing she has married George for money.

When George buys her a piano and she struggles to master Johann Strauss' 'Radetsky March' while practicing, he plays a version of it on the banjo or whistles it just to torment her and remind her of her failure.

When Peter returns from college, he initially ridicules him again in front of his crew and then changes tack.

Phil appears to befriend Peter, insisting on him calling him by his Christian name.

It's not clear at first if this more magnanimous approach is genuine or if he is just doing it to mess with Rose's head.

What Campion creates in 'The Power of the Dog' is a Western where guns are not pulled but where emotional cruelty is the weapon of choice.

Phil is the tormentor in chief, a town bully who roars at locals for having a sing song while he dines with his crew.

And in the Burbank homestead, he sets out to undermine Rose. 

Cumberbatch's character has all the macho swagger of a gunslinger but a hell of an inferiority complex as well.

His only recourse is to bully.

Campion's lead approaches the role in a manner that is reminiscent of Daniel Day Lewis' terrifying turn as Daniel Plainview in 'There Will Be Blood'.

It is a stirring performance that keeps us second guessing Phil's motives.

He avoids unnecessary histrionics and doesn't overact.

Jared Leto, take note.

This is a larger than life performance that remains disciplined and as a result, it will linger long in the memory.

Dundst is also terrific as Rose who feels the brunt of Phil's insecurity and understandably comes close to cracking under the strain.

However she also taps into the fiercely protective instincts of a mother. 

Smit McPhee and Plemons also excel in their parts.

The former is wonderful as a sensitive and vulnerable young man who develops an odd, disconcerting relationship with his mother's bully. 

Plemons imbues George with a quiet dignity and decency, even when his brother is doing his worst.

Thomasin McKenzie, Keith Carradine and Frances Conroy add further weight to proceedings.

The film is also one of the most sumptuous to hit our screens this year. 

With the Maniototo region of Otago in New Zealand doubling up for 1925 Montana, cinematographer Ari Wegner and Campion make great use of the stunning landscapes to create an achingly beautiful Western.

Viewers will be struck by the vastness and rough beauty of the country where the Burbanks reign.

And while her use of the landscape to reflect the dynamics of the drama recalls Paul Thomas Anderson's 'There Will Be Blood,' Campion's movie has an even bigger dollop of Terrence Malick in there - particularly the visual splendour of 'Days of Heaven'.

It isn't all about the landscape, though.

Campion and Wegner mine an awful lot out of the close-ups of the cast.

'The Power of the Dog' reminds us that great film acting isn't always about how lines are delivered.

It often hinges on how the eyes and facial expressions of actors really reflect what is going on.

Add into the mix Jonny Greenwood's disturbing score, Kirsty Cameron's costumes and Mark Robins' superb art direction and you have a film which deserves to have a lot of awards season attention.

If Wegner doesn't land an Oscar nomination for her work or Peter Scibarras for his editing, then we should just give up.

'The Power of the Dog' is so impressive, you really wouldn't quibble with any of its cast or crew getting Academy recognition.

Having captivated audiences in 1993 with an almost perfect film 'The Piano,' Campion has done it again.

Majestic in its sweep and unbearably tense, it isn't just a good Western. 

It is a fabulous one.

Breathtakingly original, it will be a film we will revisit and marvel at for many years to come.

('The Power of the Dog' was released in UK and Irish cinemas on November 17, 2021 before being made available for streaming on Netflix on December 1, 2021)

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