Despite the vast western vistas (actually filmed in New Zealand), a haunting soundtrack and the magnificent cinematography of threatening skies and cattle roundups on rolling hills, this latest Jane Campion film is really about internalized personal struggles.
Two wealthy, very different brothers run a huge ranch in Montana in the mid-1920s. One is a brilliant but harsh, manipulative taskmaster, played by Benedict Cumberbatch. The other is a gentle soul who falls in love with and marries a delicate widow (Kirsten Dunst) with a teenage son.
From that moment on, out of resentment and jealousy, the cruel brother makes life so miserable for the new bride that she turns to drink. Her son is also taunted mercilessly. The pace is deliberately slow as the mood becomes ever more menacing and the underlying tensions reveal new aspects of the different characters. It is intense and mysterious as the story unfolds with a surprising yet logical ending.
Carefully calculated to mesmerize, its grandeur somehow left me untouched, unlike Campion’s multi-award winning 1993 masterpiece, “The Piano” which was mind-blowing, sensual and unforgettable. Most critics have been calling her latest a triumph, due mainly to the fact that the sure-handed Campion, who is a New Zealander, is revered for being the first female director to win a Palme d’Or back in 1993.
Superb **** Very Good *** Good ** Mediocre * Miserable – no stars
By Neptune
Neptune Ravar Ingwersen reviews film extensively for publications in Switzerland. She views 4 to 8 films a week and her aim is to sort the wheat from the chaff for readers.
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