“The Power of the Dog” stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Kirsten Dunst, and is written and directed by Academy Award-winner Jane Campion.
Set in Montana in the 1920s, Campion’s hotly anticipated new film is an enthralling revisionist western awash in sublime expanses and nuance, capturing a landscape and a people driven by the fantasy and folly of western expansion.
Adapted from Thomas Savage's novel of the same name, “The Power of the Dog” tells the story of successful rancher brothers George (Jesse Plemons) and Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch) Burbank, whose relationship sours when the more mild-mannered George marries local widow Rose
Charismatic rancher Phil Burbank (Benedict Cumberbatch) inspires fear and awe in those around him. When his brother brings home a new wife Rose (Kirsten Dunst) and her son Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee), Phil torments them until he finds himself exposed to the possibility of love.
Rose and Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee) arrive at the Burbank ranch — seemingly wholesome and naïve — and attempt to fit into the family’s complex dynamic of new money, but are continually stymied by an unspoken brotherly bond.
Cumberbatch shines in this ferocious performance as a cowboy to the core, whose hurtful, macho quips toward Peter and his mother hint at a simmering menace and a capacity for erratic cruelty; a kind of camouflage that only serves to repress deep-seated trauma and latent desire.
Proving once again that she is one of today’s greatest filmmakers, Campion delivers a fascinating study of masculinity and internal torment.