THE POWER OF THE DOG
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Kodi Smit-McPhee Director: Jane Campion 4/5 stars
Two brothers and the woman that comes between them – that is the core of Jane Campion’s absorbing, attritional drama The Power of the
Dog. The film won the best director prize when it was unveiled at the Venice International Film Festival in September. It was recognised in the best picture (drama), best director and best supporting actor (Kodi Smit-McPhee) categories at this week’s Golden Globes.
Her first feature since 2009’s John Keats biopic Bright Star, this take on a 1967 novel by Thomas Savage feels right at the opposite end of the scale to that sensual exploration of the English Romantic poet.
Set in Montana in the American West in 1925, the film stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Phil, a brutish rancher who, in the very first scene, is calling his more business-minded sibling George (Jesse Plemons) “fatso”. The insults and the ire only get worse when George meets and falls for Rose (Kirsten Dunst), who, with her sensitive, artistic boy Pete (Smit-McPhee) runs a small mill. Her husband took his own life years earlier.
The “suicide widow and her half-cooked son”, as Phil cruelly dubs them, move to George and Phil’s ranch. “You’re a cheap schemer,” the embittered Phil tells Rose, barely able to contain his hatred.
For her part, Rose is a closet alcoholic. She hides bottles around the farmstead. Her nerves are frayed, especially when George implores her to play the piano in front of some guests.
The film also ventures into Brokeback Mountain terrain, as Phil and his cronies barrack Pete, calling him a “Little Nancy”. Phil makes reference to Bronco Henry, a horse rider friend whose death more than 20 years earlier clearly devastated the rancher.
In one scene, Pete finds a stashed box belonging to Bronco Henry, containing magazines with pictures of naked men. Has Phil buried his own sexuality? Were he and Bronco Henry once lovers? The film remains open to interpretation, subtly modulated by Campion.
Shot in New Zealand – the harsh, rugged landscapes look staggering on screen – The Power of the Dog is a rich and beautifully performed piece.
Cumberbatch is in full force here, a tough-as-nails turn unlike anything he is done before. Real-life couple Plemons and Dunst are also very watchable, though the film ultimately turns its attention to Smit-McPhee’s character.
As Pete, the otherworldly New Zealander forms an odd bond with Phil as the story unfolds – one of the strengths of Campion’s film is you’re never sure how events will play out. What results is a powerful, ambiguous story about sibling rivalry, sexuality and self-hate.