Benedict Cumberbatch's hugely-acclaimed 2021 movie The Power of the Dog is currently available to watch on BBC iPlayer after airing on BBC Two last night. The film stars the Doctor Strange actor as a cantankerous rancher whose brother moves his new wife and her son onto his land.
He chooses to pick on the youngster due to his effeminate nature, but it eventually becomes clear that there's a tragic reason for his behaviour.
The Power of the Dog had more nominations than any other film in the year's Oscars it competed in, but only won Best Director for Jane Campion.
Who's in The Power of the Dog?
• Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, The Hobbit, the MCU) as Phil Burbank
• Kirsten Dunst (Roofman, Civil War, Spider-Man trilogy) as Rose Gordon
• Jesse Plemons (Breaking Bad, Game Night, Bugonia) as George Burbank
• Kodi Smit-McPhee (the X-Men series, Elvis, Let Me In) as Peter Gordon
What did critics say about The Power of the Dog?
The film has an excellent Rotten Tomatoes score of 94% positive from 365 critic reviews, with USA Today calling it "a picturesque, enthralling exploration of male ego and toxic masculinity, crafted by an extremely talented woman".
The Hollywood Reporter dunned the film a "thrilling return" for Campion and "unpredictable", while The Los Angeles Times praised it for being a "brilliantly acted, insidiously gripping adaptation".
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Mashable called it "even better the second time around", while the Associated Press said it has a "ruthless finesse".
Where can I watch The Power of the Dog?
The Power of the Dog is currently available to stream on BBC iPlayer, but as is the case with films on the service, it's only for a limited time. At the time of writing, you've got 29 days left to watch.
The film is also available to watch on Netflix, where it first premiered.
Other Benedict Cumberbatch movies to stream now
As Doctor Strange, Cumberbatch has so far appeared in six Marvel Cinematic Universe films. All of them are available to stream on Disney+, except for Spider-Man: No Way Home, which is currently available with a Prime Video or Sky/NOW Cinema subscription.
Disney+ is also home to The Roses, a dark comedy from last year in which he and Olivia Colman play a couple who hurl barbed insults – and a few sharp objects – at each other.
Meanwhile, The Hobbit trilogy is currently available to stream on Netflix.
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Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he's covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small. A big fan of TV and movies both mainstream and obscure, Joe also enjoys video games and in particular PlayStation. Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I'm a Fish.
