Dame Edwards Jane Campion is a fixture in the 2022 Oscar award race – the one time Best Director Oscar winner and Palme d’Or recipient (first for Women in both categories) has returned with an unorthodox Western genre film, The Power of the Dog, based on the novel written by acclaimed Western writer, Thomas Savage. The film has already received heaping praise out of Cannes 2021 in France and won arguably the most prestigious Fall Festival award – The Venice’s Golden Lion
The theme of 2021 is big cast and The Power of the Dog provides supple reinforcements and introduces a number of Oscar-less actors a chance to get into the race. One being the the man in the lead role, Benedict Cumberbatch, who currently stands as one of the favorites to potentially win the award for Best Actor.
However, it’s a large cast that has given Netflix supple opportunity to make headway at the Oscars in March. Kirsten Dunst is a name floating around the scene as a potential winner. The upstart Kodi Smit-McPhee, who has been rising in film circles and ready for his first major Oscar player. Jesse Plemons should also garner plenty of attention as a actor putting in the work as slowsly starting to attract prestige filmmakers into his conversation.
Netflix’s Best Shot
Netflix has two prestige directors releasing high-profile films in quarter four this year — both with award aspirations and will certainly be mentioned heavily in the conversation. The other film is Adam McKay’s Don’t Look Up, which has plenty of big name talent that could drive the awards conversation in the right direction. The one thing that film is missing is heavy, emotional tones (McKay’s not too big on the emotional side), something that Jane Campion’s film has in droves.
Granted, these two aren’t the only films with Oscars in their eyes for Netflix. Andre Garfield stars in Lin Manuel Miranda’s transition to the screen with Tick…Tick…Boom, where Garfield is getting killer notices for his performance. The other is the second venture into directing for Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Lost Daughter, serving as one of the lower-profile Netflix award contenders but has plenty of reasons to think that title will make its way into the conversation.
Netflix can thank the queen Olivia Colman for that one…
Although Netflix does have a strong lineup of films that can compete, only one film likely has the prestige, name recognition, and reviews to make a serious push for the top prize — an award that has eluded Netflix since entering the Awards race back in 2017. That film is undoubtedly The Power of the Dog and could come away with multiple wins on Oscar night.
It’s crucial Netflix sells this film to a larger audience and get people on board outside the Arthouse crowd already clamoring at the bit to see the film.
Jonny Greenwood’s Original Score
Jonny Greenwood creates the underlying mood of The Power of the Dog focusing on the Benedict Cumberbatch character and formulating a score that works best for hm. Score in trailers is a small gateway into the tone of the film and based on Greenwood’s hypnotic, character driven piece in the trailer, it’s going to be some of his best work.
Moreover, Greenwood has two scores in the race this season – The Power of the Dog and Pablo Larrain’s Spencer -both bringing something vastly different to the table.
Weird Cinema 