Power of the Ricardos

Just the other night during movie club, the question “what movie surprised you” was posed. At the time, we weren’t talking specifically about Oscar-nominated movies. Still, two in the Oscar pool fit the bill- Power of the Dog and Being the Ricardos.

We started out our Oscar Best Picture challenge with Jane Champion’s Power of the Dog this year. The trailer did precisely what trailers are supposed to do. Although, Power of the Dog didn’t have to work hard. I am a fan of Westerns, which isn’t an en vogue genre. Adam and I sat with enthusiasm to watch Benedict Cumberbatch and company bring the West to life.

The enthusiasm wasn’t present when we hit play on Being the Ricardos. We flipped through our streaming services for what was readily available. At one point, we nearly got out a coin for decision-making. In all honesty, our choice was primarily based on the intent to pick the movie apart to its bones. Bardem and Kidman do not look like Lucy and Desi. What was the director thinking?

And yet, despite the actors’ lack of physical likeness, Being the Ricardos won me over. I forgot about my reservations and misgivings after about ten to fifteen minutes. What made the suspension of disbelief possible was the focus on Desi and Lucille rather than Ricky and Lucy.

I really liked how the writers managed to fit so much into the two-hour and twelve-minute runtime. The combination of a mockumentary and flashbacks masterfully injects exposition and the sense of what happened next.

Power of the Dog, on the other hand, did not manage to sustain the enthusiasm we had brought to the viewing. After the credits rolled, we sat and discussed what we had just watched for over half an hour. Partly to figure out what we had just watched.

Now, these two movies are not in the same league. There’s a reason why Being the Ricardos is only up for acting Oscars and not Best Picture. But Power of the Dog bit off more than it could chew, making its message confusing and story muddied.

Benedict Cumberbatch’s Phil Burbank was an asshole, but he wasn’t shown to be quite the villain he was meant to be. There weren’t enough scenes between Cumberbatch and Dunst to show his true motives, making her character look hysterical. I hate, hate, hate using that word, but it’s the only one that fits.

That said, Power of the Dog is still the favorite to take the big prize. I don’t have another film that could take it on as of this writing. Apologies to JK Simmons, but I don’t think his excellent performance will be enough to nab a best supporting win. But then again, Kodi Smit-McPhee should be fighting for Lead Actor, not supporting in my mind.