About ten days ago, I tried watching the movie off Netflix, ended it around 75-percent into the experience. For me, several elements just weren't working. Yesterday.....I went back to the half-way point of the movie, and then completed 125-minute movie (more or less forcing myself to the end). My observations:
1. It is based in 1925, on a cattle ranch, in Montana....so they try to tell this story as a authentic western. I generally give it a marginal 'truth' on that element of being a western.
It's like saying 'Hud' (1963) was a western. That also fails.
2. Just about everyone in the movie with some significance....has serious physiological problems, or their text is written to explain how they all got this way.
3. Cumberbatch and Dunst give some great performances.
4. Jessie Plemons as 'George'? It's a wasted role and you could have gotten any unknown guy to fulfill the part, and done just as well.
5. On the scale for a physiological drama....I'd give it almost a '9'.
6. Based on a book? Well....you have to go back to 1967 when it was printed. It's been around for over 50 years in text form.
7. 'Rose', the only major female role of the movie? Well.....it's best to say that she's delicate....fairly fragile....and probably not capable of handling much stress or chaos in life.
8. Developed as a book and movie.....to be a 'Greek epic story'? Well....yeah, it goes off into that direction to tell what is a simple ten-line story over two brothers (both fairly mixed-up), a dead ranch-hand named Bronco Henry (he's been dead for almost 20 years), a alcoholic fragile 'Rose', Rose's son who seems to be in need of help, and a ranch in some remote area of Montana.
9. To do a 'Power of the Dog' II? I sat there thinking about this. 'Peter' (son of Rose), would be curious to see what happened to him in the decade that followed (1925 to 1935). The marriage between Rose and George.....did she stay on, or perhaps murder George at some point? Might it be interesting to go back to 1903/1904 and meet this Bronco Henry guy?
10. I won't call it a failure, but it's just a long twisted movie that reminds one of a 'tango-like' dance, where you kept waiting for the end, and you found out that Phil got oddly sick, and died (rather quickly).
I'll just say this.....Greeks wrote tragic opera stories....mostly to entertain folks from about two-thousand years ago, and their style might not be for everyone.
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