Harris Theater: Power of the Dog

Benedict Cumberbatch gives a magnetic performance (our personal pick for this year's Best Actor award at the Oscars) as domineering Montana rancher Phil Burbank, who rains scorn on his delicate sister-in-law (Kirsten Dunst) and her withdrawn teenage son (Kodi Smit-McPhee). But when Phil decides to take his nephew under his wing, his plan to toughen up the boy takes both of them into unexpected territory. By turns an epic western, a gothic melodrama, and a simmering thriller, this drama from auteur Jane Campion (The Piano, Bright Star) has racked up accolades on the festival circuit, including a Best Direction award at the Venice International Film Festival.