The Power of The Dog

The Power of the Dog is a 2021 American internationally co-produced drama film written and directed by Jane Campion, based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Savage. It stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Thomasin McKenzie and Frances Conroy.

The film premiere on September 2, 2021 in Venice Film Festival 2021. It released to be schedule on limited theatrical released in United States by Netflix in November 17, 2021 and on prior to streaming service Netflix in December 1, 2021.

Premise
In early 20th-century Montana, a sadistic ranch owner launches a campaign against a young widow when she unexpectedly marries his brother and comes to live on the ranch.

Plot
In 1925 Montana, wealthy ranch-owning brothers Phil and George Burbank meet widow and inn owner Rose Gordon during a cattle drive. The kind-hearted George is quickly taken with Rose, while the volatile Phil, much influenced by his late mentor "Bronco" Henry, mocks Rose's son Peter for his lisp and effeminate manner.

George and Rose soon marry. Rose uses George's money to send her son to college to study medicine and surgery, while she moves into the Burbank ranch house. Phil takes a dislike to her, believing she married George for his money. His rough ways and taunting manner unnerve her. George organizes a dinner party with his parents and the governor so they can meet Rose and hear her play their new piano. Rose is unable to play more than a few notes of the "Radetzky March" of Johann Strauss Sr. and is further humiliated when Phil belittles her. As the guests leave, she takes a drink of alcohol, something she was previously opposed to.

By the time Peter comes to stay at the ranch for the summer break, Rose has become an alcoholic. Phil and his men taunt Peter, and he sequesters himself in his room, dissecting animals and studying diseases. In a secluded glade, Phil masturbates with Bronco Henry's handkerchief. Peter enters the glade and finds a stash of magazines with Bronco Henry's name on them depicting nude men. He observes Phil bathing in a pond with the kerchief around his neck; Phil notices him and chases him off.

Phil begins to show decency to Peter, offering to plait him a lasso from rawhide and teach him how to ride a horse. After learning to ride, Peter heads out on his own one day and finds a dead cow, presumably dead from anthrax infection. He puts on gloves and cuts pieces of the cow's hide. Out on a fencing job, Peter and Phil corner and kill a rabbit, and Phil gets an open wound on his hand. Afterwards, Peter tells Phil about finding the body of his father, who had hanged himself, and cutting him down himself.

Seeing how much time her son is spending with Phil, Rose's alcoholism worsens. Upon learning about Phil's policy of burning the hides he does not need for himself, Rose defiantly gives them to local Native American traders who thank her with a pair of gloves. She then collapses from her rapid alcohol consumption and George tends to her.

With no hides to finish Peter's lasso, Phil is despondent and attempts to lash out at Rose before being stopped by George. Peter calms him down by offering him the hide he cut from the dead cattle, but does not tell Phil that the animal was diseased. Phil is touched and promises Peter they'll have a much better relationship from now on. They spend the night in the barn finishing the rope, and Phil tells Peter a story of how Bronco Henry saved his life by lying body-to-body with him in a bedroll during freezing weather. Phil does not answer when Peter asks if they were naked. They then seductively share a cigarette. When Phil does not show up for breakfast the next morning, George finds him sickened in bed and his wound heavily infected. A delirious Phil looks for Peter so he can give Peter the finished lasso, but George takes him away to the doctor before he can hand it over. In the next scene, George is seen picking out a coffin while Phil's body is prepared for burial.

At his funeral, the doctor tells George that Phil most likely died from anthrax, puzzling him, as Phil was always careful to avoid diseased cattle. Having not gone to the funeral, Peter opens a Book of Common Prayer to the burial rite and then flips to the Psalter and reads Psalm 22:20: "Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog." Later he puts his finished lasso under his bed with gloved hands. As he walks down the hall he stops at a window and watches George and a now sober Rose return home and embrace. He turns away and smiles.

Cast

 * Benedict Cumberbatch as Phil Burbank
 * Kirsten Dunst as Rose
 * Jesse Plemons as George Burbank
 * Kodi Smit-McPhee as Peter
 * Thomasin McKenzie as Lola
 * Frances Conroy as Old Lady
 * Keith Carradine as Governor Edward
 * Peter Carroll as Old Gent
 * Adam Beach as Edward Nappo

Production
It was announced in May 2019 that Jane Campion was to write and direct the film with Benedict Cumberbatch and Elisabeth Moss cast to star. Paul Dano entered negotiations to join the film in September. He would be confirmed to star the next month, with Kirsten Dunst cast to replace Moss in her role. However, by November, Dano also dropped out due to scheduling conflicts with The Batman. Jesse Plemons was cast to replace him. In February 2020, Thomasin McKenzie, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Frances Conroy, Keith Carradine, Peter Carroll and Adam Beach joined the cast of the film.

Filming began in New Zealand on January 10, 2020 in the southern region of Otago, including the city of Dunedin. Production on the film was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, although Cumberbatch, Dunst and Plemons reportedly remained in New Zealand during the country's lockdown. After border exemptions were granted for cast and crew, production resumed on June 22, 2020.

Release
It is scheduled to have its world premiere at the 78th Venice International Film Festival on September 2, 2021, followed by a Special Presentation screening at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival that same month. It will also screen at the 2021 New York Film Festival on October 1, 2021 as the festival's centerpiece screening. It is scheduled to be released in a limited release in November 2021, prior to streaming on Netflix on December 1, 2021.

See More

 * Watch The Power of the Dog on Netflix