A very small group of us were mesmerized (once again, in my case) by Jane Campion’s masterpiece tonight. Benedict Cumberbatch transformed himself brilliantly and convincingly from a British gentleman to a rough-edged, toxicly masculine 1920’s American cowboy. Well, he’s rather more complicated than that, as is the movie itself. If you’re interested in dissecting The Power of the Dog more deeply, I suggest that you watch Lucas Blue’s thorough explanation on YouTube.

My dog, Tick, a Jack Russell Terrier, watches movies earnestly with us… I’ve never seen anything quite like it. He pays very close attention and takes exception to animals being on the screen, particularly horses. You can imagine how much he didn’t like The Power of the Dog… unless maybe he finds pleasure in “protecting” us from them. In any case, he gets used to the idea that these big critters are going to be sharing our space for a few hours, and finds himself a friendly lap to settle down in.

Our short opening feature was Maestro directed by Illogic… It’s so great to be back.