'The Power of the Dog': Weaving the voice of landscapes

In films, landscapes come alive with music, and help in bridging overwhelming moments, providing a breathing space for viewers, easing the association of traits to a character and eventually becoming a part of the cast. With the right balance of an accompanied score, they can be effective mood creators and narrative churners.

In Jane Campion’s 'The Power of the Dog' (2021), which recently won the Best Director award at the Oscars, we see tension growing between two brothers in the lush mountainous landscape of Montana in America. Benedict Cumberbatch plays Phil, a rebellious rancher who is coping with the sudden return of his elder brother. Consequently, his singular lonely life is rudely confronted by the sudden happily married life of his brother.

The mountains watch the relationship of these two brothers evolve and in turn, change colours. At times, the mountains are heavily overcast, reflecting the temperature of the relationship between the two brothers. At other times, they appear bright under clear skies. Tucked in between gigantic mountains, the futility of human relationships turning sour due to jealousy and sexual tension is portrayed magnificently in the film.

Johnny Greenwood, who scored the film, made the clever use of finger picking a cello to initiate a conversation of mystery and hope with the undulating landscape. The characters and landscapes are in constant dialogue throughout the film, churning out a steadily passive narrative of its own.

The sound keeps us unsettled in its unresolved melodies, disharmonious music and sometimes, shocking entries. This intuitive shocking entrance of discordant classical music has been previously explored in the satirical drama film, 'The Lobster' (2015), directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and many of his other films too.

The music composer gives an insight into how discordant melodies and de-tuned instruments can bring the unseen elements of the characters to the foreground. Through synthesized violins with atonal brass-like textures, the mountains are given an eerie voice of escape and every time Phil stares at them, he secures some hope of uncertainty being his sole friend. The soundscape helps highlight the subversive, dormant narrative like a pen marking the important turning points in a story.

The music gives us the breathing space for contemplation and a sustained accumulation of the many traits of each character. We are invited into the core of every character’s turmoil when we hear the voices emanating from their landscapes. Johnny Greenwood revolutionises in curating a new language of sound through a restrained composition and an unusual choice of instruments.

Directed by Jane Campion, the incongruous marriage of the landscape with Greenwood’s score paves the way for a riveting, immersive narrative.

(The author is a Bengaluru-based journalist and a music composer, with an expertise in philosophy of sound).