Owen Gleiberman Chief Film CriticFrom the moment it premiered at the Venice Film Festival last September, Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog” has been a divisive film.
Yet the divisiveness has had an element of being foggy and vague, hard to get a fix on. In part, that’s because those who command the media megaphone, and are loudest in the debate, have mostly showered the movie with acclaim. “The Power of the Dog” received countless rave reviews and, along with “Drive My Car,” it dominated 10 Best lists and year-end critics groups’ awards.
It is one of the most celebrated films of the year and that perception is reflected in the fact that it received 12 Oscar nominations — and that many prognosticators, at least up until recently, thought it would win.
Yet from the moment it premiered on Netflix (and in a small number of theaters) on Nov. 17, I think it’s no exaggeration to say that there has been an omnipresent grumbling about “The Power of the Dog.” A great many people who have seen it do not care for it.
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