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The Power of the Dog (film)

The Power of the Dog is a 2021 revisionist Western psychological drama film written and directed by Jane Campion. It is based on Thomas Savage's 1967 novel of the same title. The film stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, and Kodi Smit-McPhee. Set in Montana and shot mostly within rural Otago, the film is an international co-production among New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.

The Power of the Dog
Official promotional poster
Directed byJane Campion
Screenplay byJane Campion
Based onThe Power of the Dog
by Thomas Savage
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyAri Wegner
Edited byPeter Sciberras
Music byJonny Greenwood
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • September 2, 2021 (2021-09-02) (Venice)
  • November 11, 2021 (2021-11-11) (Australia and New Zealand)
  • November 17, 2021 (2021-11-17) (United Kingdom and United States)
Running time
126 minutes[1]
Countries
  • New Zealand
  • United Kingdom
  • Canada
  • Australia[2]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$35–39 million[3]
Box office$417,022[4][5]

The Power of the Dog had its world premiere at the 78th Venice International Film Festival on September 2, 2021, where Campion won the Silver Lion for Best Direction. The film had a limited theatrical release in November 2021, and was released to stream worldwide on Netflix on December 1, 2021. The Power of the Dog received universal acclaim from critics, who praised Campion's direction and screenplay, cinematography, score, and performances of the four leads.

It was highly regarded as one of the best films of 2021 by multiple top-ten lists and has received many accolades, including a leading 12 nominations at the 94th Academy Awards, among them Best Picture, Best Actor for Cumberbatch, Best Supporting Actor for both Plemons and Smit-McPhee, and Best Supporting Actress for Dunst. Campion won for Best Director, making the film the first to win only in that category since The Graduate (1968), and the latest film to lose in a record ten categories after The Irishman (2019).[6] It was named one of the best films of 2021 by the American Film Institute, and received seven nominations at the 79th Golden Globe Awards, winning Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture for Smit-McPhee, Best Director for Campion. It received ten nominations at the 27th Critics' Choice Awards, winning four, including Best Picture and received eight British Academy Film Awards, winning Best Direction and Best Film.[7]

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, but the coarse and volatile Phil dislikes her, believing she only wants George's money. Phil also belittles her teenage son Peter, whom he derides as weak and effeminate. George and Rose marry and she moves into the Burbank ranch house while Peter attends medical school. George organizes a dinner party with his parents and the governor and pressures Rose into a piano recital. George reveals that Phil was a brilliant student at Yale, in contrast to his rough nature. Rose is unable to perform due to Phil's earlier belittlement. Humiliated and upset by Phil's behavior, Rose starts drinking, becoming an alcoholic by the time Peter arrives home for a break from school. Phil and his men taunt Peter and he isolates himself in his room, where he dissects a rabbit he has caught.

In a glade away from the mansion, Phil masturbates with a delicate scarf belonging to his late mentor, Bronco Henry. Peter enters a bivouac in the glade and finds a stash of Bronco Henry's homoerotic magazines depicting nude men. He observes Phil bathing in a pond with Bronco's scarf around his neck before Phil chases him away. Later, in front of his men, Rose and George, Phil makes amends with Peter, offering to plait him a lasso from rawhide before he returns to school. He teaches him to ride a horse. Peter heads out on his own one day, finds a dead cow and, after carefully putting on rubber surgeon's gloves he brought in his backpack, cuts off pieces of the cow's hide. Phil and Peter ride into the hills together. While trying to catch a rabbit hiding in a pile of wood posts, Phil gashes his hand, but declines Peter's offer to dress the wound. Peter tells Phil about finding the body of his alcoholic father, who had hanged himself, and having the strength to cut him down.

Rose's alcoholism worsens as Peter and Phil spend more time together. Upon learning about Phil's policy of burning unwanted hides, Rose defiantly gives them to local Native American itinerant traders, and collapses on her way back to the house. Upon discovering this, Phil is infuriated. George says she is unwell. Peter pacifies Phil by offering him strips from the hide that he had cut, omitting mention of the hide's origin. Phil is touched by Peter's gesture and holds him close to his face. The pair spend the night in the barn finishing the rope. Blood flows from Phil's open wound as he swirls the hide in the solution used to soften it. Peter asks Phil about his relationship with Bronco Henry, with Phil saying that he had once saved his life when they were caught in a freezing storm in the mountains by keeping him warm with his body. Peter asks if they were naked, but Phil does not answer. They later share a cigarette.[8]

The following morning, George finds Phil sick in bed, his wound now severely infected. A delirious Phil looks for Peter to give him the finished lasso, but George takes him to the doctor. George is later seen picking out a coffin for his brother while his body is prepared for burial. At the funeral, the doctor tells George that Phil most likely died of anthrax. This puzzles George, as Phil was always careful to avoid diseased cattle. Peter, who skipped Phil's funeral, opens a Book of Common Prayer to a passage on burial rites and then reads Psalm 22: "Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog." With carefully gloved hands, Peter stows his finished lasso under his bed. As Peter watches George and a now-sober Rose return home and embrace, he turns away and smiles, implying he intentionally gave Phil the diseased hide to save his mother's life.

Cast

 
 
 
 
Cumberbatch, Dunst, Plemons, and Smit-McPhee all received Academy Award nominations for their performances.

Production

 
Director Jane Campion, who received an Oscar and a Silver Lion award for her direction.

Background

In early 2017, writer-director Jane Campion, having just finished filming the second season of Top of the Lake, received a copy of Thomas Savage's 1967 novel The Power of the Dog from her stepmother, Judith. Campion was enthralled by the book and began hunting for its film rights. She and producer Tanya Seghatchian eventually obtained the rights from Canadian producer Roger Frappier after meeting with him at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.[9][10] According to Campion, the novel had been optioned at least five times prior but never made.[10] Paul Newman was among those who had tried to adapt the book.[11]

While working on the script, Campion maintained correspondence with author Annie Proulx, who wrote the afterword to a 2001 edition of Savage's novel.[12][13] After completing her first draft, Campion visited Savage's ranch in Montana, met with members of his family (the author had died in 2003) and consulted with an expert on Savage from the University of Montana Western in Dillon.[9] Campion was unable to film in Montana due to budget concerns, and opted to shoot in her native New Zealand instead.[10] Cinematographer Ari Wegner and production designer Grant Major eventually discovered an ideal location in Central Otago in New Zealand's South Island, months before the film's early 2020 start date.[9]

Development and casting

It was announced in May 2019 that Campion was to write and direct the film with Benedict Cumberbatch and Elisabeth Moss cast to star.[14] Paul Dano entered negotiations to join the film in September.[15] He was confirmed to star the next month, with Kirsten Dunst cast to replace Moss in her role.[16] However, by November, Dano also dropped out due to scheduling conflicts with The Batman. Jesse Plemons, who was originally offered the role before Dano, was cast to replace him.[17] In February 2020, Thomasin McKenzie, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Frances Conroy, Keith Carradine, Peter Carroll, and Adam Beach were confirmed to be cast in the film.[18]

Campion had Cumberbatch in mind for the role of Phil Burbank.[10] He first caught Campion's attention in the 2012–2013 BBC drama Parade's End.[13] To prepare for the role, Cumberbatch did research into the Lewis and Clark Expedition and worked for a time on a cattle ranch near Glacier National Park in Montana.[9] He attended a three-week boot camp to learn horse-riding, rope-throwing, castrating bulls and playing the banjo.[13][19]

Filming

Filming began in New Zealand in January 2020 in the Maniototo in Central Otago, and also took place in the coastal Otago city of Dunedin and the town of Oamaru.[20][21][22] Production on the film was halted in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[9] After border exemptions were granted for cast and crew, production resumed in June 2020.[23] All of the film's interior scenes were shot on sound stages in Auckland during the final weeks of filming. Principal photography concluded in July 2020.[9] Throughout the production Cumberbatch stayed in character; he and Dunst agreed not to speak on set.[13][19][24][25]

Cinematography

Director of photography Ari Wegner shot The Power of the Dog using two Arri Alexa LF cameras paired with Panavision Ultra Panatar lenses, with a 2.40:1 aspect ratio.[26][27] Campion was specifically looking for a female cinematographer who would be willing to embark on a full year of preparations alongside her. She sought out Wegner, who had shot a 2015 ANZ ad campaign with Campion.[28] Wegner and Campion did meticulous storyboarding for the film, sometimes separately so that the two could compare later.[29] Wegner drew extensively on the work of Evelyn Cameron, an English photographer who moved to Montana near the turn of the 20th century.[28] Period photographs from the Time magazine archives, Ken Burns' documentary series The West and the works of artists Andrew Wyeth and Lucian Freud were additional points of reference.[27][30]

Set design

Grant Major was responsible for The Power of the Dog's production design; he had previously worked with Campion on her film An Angel at My Table.[13] Against difficult weather conditions, Major and his team built the façade of the two-story mansion, a working barn, a cattle pen and stockyards on location in time for the start of the shoot.[9][13] The interiors of the mansion, built later on a sound stage in Auckland, were modeled after Theodore Roosevelt's Sagamore Hill.[31][32] Period-correct furniture was not readily available in New Zealand and as a result, set decorator Amber Richards sourced most of the objects from various prop houses in Los Angeles.[32]

Music

Campion recruited Jonny Greenwood to compose the score for The Power of the Dog.[33] Greenwood wanted to avoid the "sweeping strings" typical of Westerns, opting instead to use atonal brass sounds in order to emphasize the "alien, forbidding" nature of the film's landscapes.[33] He was not satisfied with the sound of Phil's banjo on screen and, as an alternative, took to play the cello like a banjo on his own, using the same fingerpicking technique.[33] The resulting sound, according to Greenwood, was "a nice confusion" and "a sound you recognize, but it's not a style that you’re familiar with."[34] As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the gathering restrictions in place, Greenwood was unable to work with an orchestra and had to record many of the cello parts on his own, layering them to achieve an orchestral texture.[35]

Release

The Power of the Dog had its world premiere at the 78th Venice International Film Festival on September 2, 2021, and had Special Presentation screenings at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival and Telluride Film Festival that same month.[36][37] By the end of its run, the film screened at film festivals in Charlottesville,[38] London,[39] Middleburg,[40] Mill Valley,[41] Montclair,[42] New York (centerpiece screening),[43] San Diego,[44] San Sebastian,[45] Savannah,[46] and Zurich.[47] The film also played at the 52nd International Film Festival of India in November.[48]

The film had a limited theatrical release in Australia and New Zealand commencing on November 11, 2021, with theatrical distribution in both countries handled by Transmission Films.[49][50] The film's limited theatrical release in the United States and the United Kingdom began on November 17,[51][52] before it was released on Netflix worldwide on December 1, 2021.[52] A behind-the-scenes documentary called Behind the Scenes with Jane Campion was also later released on Netflix worldwide on January 27, 2022.[53] Between promotion and awards campaigns, Netflix spent around $50 million on the film.[54]

The Criterion Collection released the film on DVD and Blu-ray on November 8, 2022.[55]

Reception

Box office

Although Netflix does not report box office grosses of its films, IndieWire estimated the film made $125,000 from 40 theaters in its opening weekend, and a total of $160,000 over its first five days.[56]

Audience viewership

Over its first five days of digital release it was streamed by 1.2 million U.S. households, 92,000 UK households, 37,000 German households, and 16,000 Australian.[57] By March 20 the film had been streamed in 3.4 million households in the United States, including 717,000 since the Oscar nomination announcements on February 8.[54]

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 94% based on 351 reviews, with an average rating of 8.4/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "Brought to life by a stellar ensemble led by Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog reaffirms writer-director Jane Campion as one of her generation's finest filmmakers."[58] According to Metacritic, which assigned a weighted average score of 89 out of 100 based on 58 critics, the film received "universal acclaim".[59]

Reviewing the film for The Hollywood Reporter, David Rooney wrote, "This is an exquisitely crafted film, its unhurried rhythms continually shifting as plangent notes of melancholy, solitude, torment, jealousy and resentment surface. Campion is in full control of her material, digging deep into the turbulent inner life of each of her characters with unerring subtlety."[60] Conversely, Owen Gleiberman of Variety wrote, "All of this should build, slowly and inexorably, in force and emotion. But for a film that's actually, at heart, rather tidy and old-fashioned in its triangular gamesmanship, The Power of the Dog needed to get to a more bruising catharsis. In its crucial last act, the film becomes too oblique."[61]

Metacritic reported that The Power of the Dog appeared on over 118 film critics' top-ten lists for 2021, the most of any film that year. The film ranked first on 31 lists and second on 23 lists.[62]

Accolades

The Power of the Dog became the first film directed by a woman to receive more than ten Academy Award nominations, and Campion became the first woman to receive more than one Academy Award nomination for Best Director, her first being for The Piano. The film became the first since Becket (1964) to win only one award from twelve nominations.

References

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  2. ^ Romney, Jonathan (September 3, 2021). "'The Power Of The Dog': Venice Review". Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  3. ^ Thompson, Anne (January 10, 2022). "'The Power of the Dog': Why Jane Campion Will Become the Third Woman to Win the Directing Oscar". Indie Wire. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  4. ^ "The Power of the Dog". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  5. ^ "The Power of the Dog (2021) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
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  7. ^ "2022 EE British Academy Film Awards: The Winners". January 11, 2022.
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  11. ^ Topel, Fred (November 14, 2021). "Jane Campion And Benedict Cumberbatch Channeled Paul Newman For 'The Power Of The Dog' – Contenders L.A." Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
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  15. ^ Kroll, Justin (September 29, 2019). "Paul Dano in Talks to Join Jane Campion's 'The Power of the Dog' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
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  22. ^ "Hollywood star spotted on Oamaru film set". Otago Daily Times. March 5, 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  23. ^ Hunt, Tom (June 18, 2020). "Jane Campion movie starring Cumberbatch, Dunst is second film allowed in". Stuff. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  24. ^ Ryan, Patrick (December 1, 2021). "Benedict Cumberbatch avoided showering for 'Power of the Dog': 'I had a biohazard zone around me'". USA Today. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  25. ^ Sulcas, Roslyn (November 4, 2021). "Benedict Cumberbatch and the Monsters Among Us". The New York Times. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  26. ^ Thomson, Patricia (December 2, 2021). "Clubhouse Conversations — The Power of the Dog". American Cinematographer. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
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  28. ^ a b Macabasco, Lisa Wong (December 3, 2021). "The Power of the Dog Cinematographer Ari Wegner on Embedding With Jane Campion and Going Toe-to-Toe With Benedict Cumberbatch". Vogue. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  29. ^ Goldrich, Robert (November 19, 2021). "Lensing "The Power of the Dog" and "Passing"; Sounding Out About "The Guilty"". Shoot. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
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  31. ^ Wallace, Rachel (November 30, 2021). "Turning New Zealand Into 1925 Montana for The Power of the Dog". Architectural Digest. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  32. ^ a b Major, Grant (November 2021). . Art Directors Guild. Archived from the original on January 2, 2022. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  33. ^ a b c Burlingame, Jon (November 17, 2021). "Jonny Greenwood on the Dark Power of His Music for 'The Power of the Dog'". Variety. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  34. ^ Tangcay, Jazz (November 29, 2021). "Jane Campion and Jonny Greenwood Discuss the Dark, Complicated Score in 'The Power of the Dog'". Variety. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  35. ^ Ross, Alex (December 19, 2021). "How Jonny Greenwood Wrote the Year's Best Film Score". The New Yorker. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  36. ^ Vivarelli, Nick (July 26, 2021). "Venice Film Festival Full Lineup Unveiled – Live Updates". Variety. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  37. ^ Hammond, Pete (September 1, 2021). "Telluride Film Festival: Will Smith's 'King Richard', Peter Dinklage Musical 'Cyrano', Joaquin Phoenix In 'C'mon C'mon', Ken Branagh's 'Belfast' Set To Premiere". Deadline. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  38. ^ Marcilla, Max. "Virginia Film Festival returns to in-person events in October". NBC29. Retrieved October 8, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  39. ^ Yossman, K. J. (August 19, 2021). "Benedict Cumberbatch Film 'The Power of the Dog' to Headline BFI London Film Festival Gala". Variety. Retrieved September 18, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  40. ^ Johnson, Mark (September 23, 2021). "The Middleburg Film Festival Announces First Films in 2021 Lineup". Awardsdaily - The Oscars, the Films and everything in between. from the original on September 24, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  41. ^ Rubin, Gideon (September 9, 2021). "Mill Valley Film Festival Award To Go To 'Belfast' Star: Report". Mill Valley, CA Patch. Retrieved September 18, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  42. ^ George, Liz (September 17, 2021). "Montclair Film Festival To Open with Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch". Baristanet. Retrieved September 18, 2021.
  43. ^ Hayes, Dade (July 27, 2021). "Jane Campion's 'The Power Of The Dog' Chosen As New York Film Festival Centerpiece". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  44. ^ . San Diego International Film Festival. Archived from the original on September 18, 2021. Retrieved September 18, 2021.
  45. ^ "Jane Campion's 'THE POWER OF THE DOG' to compete at San Sebastian Film Festival". HLA Management Australia. August 30, 2021. Retrieved September 18, 2021.
  46. ^ "The Power of the Dog". SCAD Savannah Film Festival. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
  47. ^ The Power of the Dog - Zurich Film Festival (in German), retrieved September 18, 2021
  48. ^ "In hybrid format, IFFI plans to draw big names and movies". The Indian Express. October 23, 2021. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  49. ^ Transmission Films [@transmissionfilms] (September 12, 2021). "Brava!! Jane Campion has won the Silver Lion award for Best Director at @labiennale. The Power of the Dog is in cinemas November 11". Retrieved November 1, 2021 – via Instagram.
  50. ^ "The Power of the Dog". New Zealand Film Commission. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  51. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (August 23, 2021). "Netflix Dates Fall Movies: A Whopping 42 Movies Coming At You". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  52. ^ a b Canfeld, David (August 23, 2021). "Jane Campion Finally Made a New Movie. She Gave It "Everything"". Vanity Fair. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  53. ^ "'The Power of the Dog' Behind-The-Scenes Documentary Arrives on Netflix". What's on Netflix. January 27, 2022.
  54. ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 24, 2022). "Oscar's Halo Effect On Best Picture Nominees Dims — Not Just At Box Office But On Streaming: A Scorecard". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  55. ^ "The Power of the Dog (2021)". Criterion.com. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
  56. ^ Brueggemann, Tom (November 21, 2021). "'Ghostbusters: Afterlife' $44 Million Opening Box Office Sets Up Sony to End the Year as a Star". IndieWire. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  57. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 6, 2021). "'The Power Of The Dog' Has Loud Bark In U.S. Households For Netflix". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
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  59. ^ "The Power of the Dog Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  60. ^ Rooney, David (September 2, 2021). "Benedict Cumberbatch in Jane Campion's 'The Power of the Dog': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  61. ^ Gleiberman, Owen (September 2, 2021). "'The Power of the Dog' Review: Dame Jane Campion's Psychodramatic Western Is Impeccably Crafted but Lacks the Major Voices of 'The Piano'". Variety. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
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External links

  • The Power of the Dog at IMDb
  • The Power of the Dog on Netflix  
  • Official screenplay

power, film, power, 2021, revisionist, western, psychological, drama, film, written, directed, jane, campion, based, thomas, savage, 1967, novel, same, title, film, stars, benedict, cumberbatch, kirsten, dunst, jesse, plemons, kodi, smit, mcphee, montana, shot. The Power of the Dog is a 2021 revisionist Western psychological drama film written and directed by Jane Campion It is based on Thomas Savage s 1967 novel of the same title The film stars Benedict Cumberbatch Kirsten Dunst Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit McPhee Set in Montana and shot mostly within rural Otago the film is an international co production among New Zealand the United Kingdom Canada and Australia The Power of the DogOfficial promotional posterDirected byJane CampionScreenplay byJane CampionBased onThe Power of the Dogby Thomas SavageProduced byEmile Sherman Iain Canning Roger Frappier Jane Campion Tanya SeghatchianStarringBenedict Cumberbatch Kirsten Dunst Jesse Plemons Kodi Smit McPhee Thomasin McKenzie Genevieve Lemon Keith Carradine Frances ConroyCinematographyAri WegnerEdited byPeter SciberrasMusic byJonny GreenwoodProductioncompaniesNew Zealand Film Commission BBC Film Max Films See Saw Films Bad Girl Creek Cross City FilmsDistributed byNetflix Worldwide Transmission Films Australia and New Zealand Release datesSeptember 2 2021 2021 09 02 Venice November 11 2021 2021 11 11 Australia and New Zealand November 17 2021 2021 11 17 United Kingdom and United States Running time126 minutes 1 CountriesNew Zealand United Kingdom Canada Australia 2 LanguageEnglishBudget 35 39 million 3 Box office 417 022 4 5 The Power of the Dog had its world premiere at the 78th Venice International Film Festival on September 2 2021 where Campion won the Silver Lion for Best Direction The film had a limited theatrical release in November 2021 and was released to stream worldwide on Netflix on December 1 2021 The Power of the Dog received universal acclaim from critics who praised Campion s direction and screenplay cinematography score and performances of the four leads It was highly regarded as one of the best films of 2021 by multiple top ten lists and has received many accolades including a leading 12 nominations at the 94th Academy Awards among them Best Picture Best Actor for Cumberbatch Best Supporting Actor for both Plemons and Smit McPhee and Best Supporting Actress for Dunst Campion won for Best Director making the film the first to win only in that category since The Graduate 1968 and the latest film to lose in a record ten categories after The Irishman 2019 6 It was named one of the best films of 2021 by the American Film Institute and received seven nominations at the 79th Golden Globe Awards winning Best Motion Picture Drama Best Supporting Actor Motion Picture for Smit McPhee Best Director for Campion It received ten nominations at the 27th Critics Choice Awards winning four including Best Picture and received eight British Academy Film Awards winning Best Direction and Best Film 7 Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 3 1 Background 3 2 Development and casting 3 3 Filming 3 4 Cinematography 3 5 Set design 3 6 Music 4 Release 5 Reception 5 1 Box office 5 2 Audience viewership 5 3 Critical response 5 4 Accolades 6 References 7 External linksPlot EditIn 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 but the coarse and volatile Phil dislikes her believing she only wants George s money Phil also belittles her teenage son Peter whom he derides as weak and effeminate George and Rose marry and she moves into the Burbank ranch house while Peter attends medical school George organizes a dinner party with his parents and the governor and pressures Rose into a piano recital George reveals that Phil was a brilliant student at Yale in contrast to his rough nature Rose is unable to perform due to Phil s earlier belittlement Humiliated and upset by Phil s behavior Rose starts drinking becoming an alcoholic by the time Peter arrives home for a break from school Phil and his men taunt Peter and he isolates himself in his room where he dissects a rabbit he has caught In a glade away from the mansion Phil masturbates with a delicate scarf belonging to his late mentor Bronco Henry Peter enters a bivouac in the glade and finds a stash of Bronco Henry s homoerotic magazines depicting nude men He observes Phil bathing in a pond with Bronco s scarf around his neck before Phil chases him away Later in front of his men Rose and George Phil makes amends with Peter offering to plait him a lasso from rawhide before he returns to school He teaches him to ride a horse Peter heads out on his own one day finds a dead cow and after carefully putting on rubber surgeon s gloves he brought in his backpack cuts off pieces of the cow s hide Phil and Peter ride into the hills together While trying to catch a rabbit hiding in a pile of wood posts Phil gashes his hand but declines Peter s offer to dress the wound Peter tells Phil about finding the body of his alcoholic father who had hanged himself and having the strength to cut him down Rose s alcoholism worsens as Peter and Phil spend more time together Upon learning about Phil s policy of burning unwanted hides Rose defiantly gives them to local Native American itinerant traders and collapses on her way back to the house Upon discovering this Phil is infuriated George says she is unwell Peter pacifies Phil by offering him strips from the hide that he had cut omitting mention of the hide s origin Phil is touched by Peter s gesture and holds him close to his face The pair spend the night in the barn finishing the rope Blood flows from Phil s open wound as he swirls the hide in the solution used to soften it Peter asks Phil about his relationship with Bronco Henry with Phil saying that he had once saved his life when they were caught in a freezing storm in the mountains by keeping him warm with his body Peter asks if they were naked but Phil does not answer They later share a cigarette 8 The following morning George finds Phil sick in bed his wound now severely infected A delirious Phil looks for Peter to give him the finished lasso but George takes him to the doctor George is later seen picking out a coffin for his brother while his body is prepared for burial At the funeral the doctor tells George that Phil most likely died of anthrax This puzzles George as Phil was always careful to avoid diseased cattle Peter who skipped Phil s funeral opens a Book of Common Prayer to a passage on burial rites and then reads Psalm 22 Deliver my soul from the sword my darling from the power of the dog With carefully gloved hands Peter stows his finished lasso under his bed As Peter watches George and a now sober Rose return home and embrace he turns away and smiles implying he intentionally gave Phil the diseased hide to save his mother s life Cast Edit Cumberbatch Dunst Plemons and Smit McPhee all received Academy Award nominations for their performances Benedict Cumberbatch as Phil Burbank Kirsten Dunst as Rose Gordon Jesse Plemons as George Burbank Kodi Smit McPhee as Peter Gordon Thomasin McKenzie as Lola Genevieve Lemon as Mrs Lewis Keith Carradine as Governor Edward Frances Conroy as Old Lady Burbank Peter Carroll as Old Gent Burbank Alison Bruce as Governor Edward s wife Alistair Sewell as Jock Cohen Holloway as Bobby Sean Keenan as Sven Adam Beach as Edward Nappo Maeson Stone Skuggedal as Edward Nappo s son Alice Englert as BusterProduction Edit Director Jane Campion who received an Oscar and a Silver Lion award for her direction Background Edit In early 2017 writer director Jane Campion having just finished filming the second season of Top of the Lake received a copy of Thomas Savage s 1967 novel The Power of the Dog from her stepmother Judith Campion was enthralled by the book and began hunting for its film rights She and producer Tanya Seghatchian eventually obtained the rights from Canadian producer Roger Frappier after meeting with him at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival 9 10 According to Campion the novel had been optioned at least five times prior but never made 10 Paul Newman was among those who had tried to adapt the book 11 While working on the script Campion maintained correspondence with author Annie Proulx who wrote the afterword to a 2001 edition of Savage s novel 12 13 After completing her first draft Campion visited Savage s ranch in Montana met with members of his family the author had died in 2003 and consulted with an expert on Savage from the University of Montana Western in Dillon 9 Campion was unable to film in Montana due to budget concerns and opted to shoot in her native New Zealand instead 10 Cinematographer Ari Wegner and production designer Grant Major eventually discovered an ideal location in Central Otago in New Zealand s South Island months before the film s early 2020 start date 9 Development and casting Edit It was announced in May 2019 that Campion was to write and direct the film with Benedict Cumberbatch and Elisabeth Moss cast to star 14 Paul Dano entered negotiations to join the film in September 15 He was confirmed to star the next month with Kirsten Dunst cast to replace Moss in her role 16 However by November Dano also dropped out due to scheduling conflicts with The Batman Jesse Plemons who was originally offered the role before Dano was cast to replace him 17 In February 2020 Thomasin McKenzie Kodi Smit McPhee Frances Conroy Keith Carradine Peter Carroll and Adam Beach were confirmed to be cast in the film 18 Campion had Cumberbatch in mind for the role of Phil Burbank 10 He first caught Campion s attention in the 2012 2013 BBC drama Parade s End 13 To prepare for the role Cumberbatch did research into the Lewis and Clark Expedition and worked for a time on a cattle ranch near Glacier National Park in Montana 9 He attended a three week boot camp to learn horse riding rope throwing castrating bulls and playing the banjo 13 19 Filming Edit Filming began in New Zealand in January 2020 in the Maniototo in Central Otago and also took place in the coastal Otago city of Dunedin and the town of Oamaru 20 21 22 Production on the film was halted in March 2020 due to the COVID 19 pandemic 9 After border exemptions were granted for cast and crew production resumed in June 2020 23 All of the film s interior scenes were shot on sound stages in Auckland during the final weeks of filming Principal photography concluded in July 2020 9 Throughout the production Cumberbatch stayed in character he and Dunst agreed not to speak on set 13 19 24 25 Cinematography Edit Director of photography Ari Wegner shot The Power of the Dog using two Arri Alexa LF cameras paired with Panavision Ultra Panatar lenses with a 2 40 1 aspect ratio 26 27 Campion was specifically looking for a female cinematographer who would be willing to embark on a full year of preparations alongside her She sought out Wegner who had shot a 2015 ANZ ad campaign with Campion 28 Wegner and Campion did meticulous storyboarding for the film sometimes separately so that the two could compare later 29 Wegner drew extensively on the work of Evelyn Cameron an English photographer who moved to Montana near the turn of the 20th century 28 Period photographs from the Time magazine archives Ken Burns documentary series The West and the works of artists Andrew Wyeth and Lucian Freud were additional points of reference 27 30 Set design Edit Grant Major was responsible for The Power of the Dog s production design he had previously worked with Campion on her film An Angel at My Table 13 Against difficult weather conditions Major and his team built the facade of the two story mansion a working barn a cattle pen and stockyards on location in time for the start of the shoot 9 13 The interiors of the mansion built later on a sound stage in Auckland were modeled after Theodore Roosevelt s Sagamore Hill 31 32 Period correct furniture was not readily available in New Zealand and as a result set decorator Amber Richards sourced most of the objects from various prop houses in Los Angeles 32 Music Edit See also The Power of the Dog soundtrack Campion recruited Jonny Greenwood to compose the score for The Power of the Dog 33 Greenwood wanted to avoid the sweeping strings typical of Westerns opting instead to use atonal brass sounds in order to emphasize the alien forbidding nature of the film s landscapes 33 He was not satisfied with the sound of Phil s banjo on screen and as an alternative took to play the cello like a banjo on his own using the same fingerpicking technique 33 The resulting sound according to Greenwood was a nice confusion and a sound you recognize but it s not a style that you re familiar with 34 As a result of the COVID 19 pandemic and the gathering restrictions in place Greenwood was unable to work with an orchestra and had to record many of the cello parts on his own layering them to achieve an orchestral texture 35 Release EditThe Power of the Dog had its world premiere at the 78th Venice International Film Festival on September 2 2021 and had Special Presentation screenings at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival and Telluride Film Festival that same month 36 37 By the end of its run the film screened at film festivals in Charlottesville 38 London 39 Middleburg 40 Mill Valley 41 Montclair 42 New York centerpiece screening 43 San Diego 44 San Sebastian 45 Savannah 46 and Zurich 47 The film also played at the 52nd International Film Festival of India in November 48 The film had a limited theatrical release in Australia and New Zealand commencing on November 11 2021 with theatrical distribution in both countries handled by Transmission Films 49 50 The film s limited theatrical release in the United States and the United Kingdom began on November 17 51 52 before it was released on Netflix worldwide on December 1 2021 52 A behind the scenes documentary called Behind the Scenes with Jane Campion was also later released on Netflix worldwide on January 27 2022 53 Between promotion and awards campaigns Netflix spent around 50 million on the film 54 The Criterion Collection released the film on DVD and Blu ray on November 8 2022 55 Reception EditBox office Edit Although Netflix does not report box office grosses of its films IndieWire estimated the film made 125 000 from 40 theaters in its opening weekend and a total of 160 000 over its first five days 56 Audience viewership Edit Over its first five days of digital release it was streamed by 1 2 million U S households 92 000 UK households 37 000 German households and 16 000 Australian 57 By March 20 the film had been streamed in 3 4 million households in the United States including 717 000 since the Oscar nomination announcements on February 8 54 Critical response Edit On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 94 based on 351 reviews with an average rating of 8 4 10 The site s critics consensus reads Brought to life by a stellar ensemble led by Benedict Cumberbatch The Power of the Dog reaffirms writer director Jane Campion as one of her generation s finest filmmakers 58 According to Metacritic which assigned a weighted average score of 89 out of 100 based on 58 critics the film received universal acclaim 59 Reviewing the film for The Hollywood Reporter David Rooney wrote This is an exquisitely crafted film its unhurried rhythms continually shifting as plangent notes of melancholy solitude torment jealousy and resentment surface Campion is in full control of her material digging deep into the turbulent inner life of each of her characters with unerring subtlety 60 Conversely Owen Gleiberman of Variety wrote All of this should build slowly and inexorably in force and emotion But for a film that s actually at heart rather tidy and old fashioned in its triangular gamesmanship The Power of the Dog needed to get to a more bruising catharsis In its crucial last act the film becomes too oblique 61 Metacritic reported that The Power of the Dog appeared on over 118 film critics top ten lists for 2021 the most of any film that year The film ranked first on 31 lists and second on 23 lists 62 Accolades Edit Main article List of accolades received by The Power of the Dog film The Power of the Dog became the first film directed by a woman to receive more than ten Academy Award nominations and Campion became the first woman to receive more than one Academy Award nomination for Best Director her first being for The Piano The film became the first since Becket 1964 to win only one award from twelve nominations References Edit The Power of the Dog Venice International Film Festival July 16 2021 Retrieved July 26 2021 Romney Jonathan September 3 2021 The Power Of The Dog Venice Review Retrieved December 24 2021 Thompson Anne January 10 2022 The Power of the Dog Why Jane Campion Will Become the Third Woman to Win the Directing Oscar Indie Wire Retrieved January 10 2022 The Power of the Dog Box Office Mojo Retrieved March 22 2022 The Power of the Dog 2021 Financial Information The Numbers Retrieved March 12 2022 Staff SlashFilm September 28 2021 The Best Movies Of 2021 Film SlashFilm com Retrieved April 18 2022 2022 EE British Academy Film Awards The Winners January 11 2022 Murphy Mekado January 21 2022 The Power of the Dog Anatomy of a Scene The New York Times Retrieved April 20 2022 a b c d e f g Galuppo Mia December 6 2021 Making of Power of the Dog How Dame Jane Campion Stayed on Track Despite an Extended COVID Shutdown The Hollywood Reporter Retrieved January 1 2022 a b c d Turan Kenneth December 1 2021 Jane Campion explains her enigmatic career choices I m careful about the bones I care to chew on Los Angeles Times Retrieved January 1 2022 Topel Fred November 14 2021 Jane Campion And Benedict Cumberbatch Channeled Paul Newman For The Power Of The Dog Contenders L A Deadline Hollywood Retrieved January 1 2022 Kisner Jordan November 16 2021 Inside Jane Campion s Cinema of Tenderness and Brutality The New York Times Retrieved January 1 2022 a b c d e f Thompson Anne December 4 2021 The Power of the Dog Why Jane Campion Will Become the Third Woman to Win the Directing Oscar IndieWire Retrieved January 1 2022 Kroll Justin May 6 2019 Benedict Cumberbatch Elisabeth Moss to Star in Dame Jane Campion s New Film EXCLUSIVE Variety Retrieved January 25 2020 Kroll Justin September 29 2019 Paul Dano in Talks to Join Jane Campion s The Power of the Dog EXCLUSIVE Variety Retrieved January 25 2020 Kroll Justin October 8 2019 Kirsten Dunst to Replace Elisabeth Moss in Benedict Cumberbatch s Power of the Dog EXCLUSIVE Variety Retrieved January 25 2020 Kroll Justin November 21 2019 Jesse Plemons Joins Benedict Cumberbatch in Jane Campion s Power of the Dog EXCLUSIVE Variety Retrieved January 25 2020 N Duka Amanda February 12 2020 The Power Of The Dog Jojo Rabbit s Thomasin McKenzie Kodi Smit McPhee amp More Join Benedict Cumberbatch In Netflix Drama Deadline Hollywood Retrieved February 12 2020 a b Sharf Zack November 10 2021 Benedict Cumberbatch Smoked So Much Filming Power of the Dog He Got Nicotine Poisoning 3 Times IndieWire Retrieved January 1 2022 Work starts on Netflix drama in Maniototo Otago Daily Times January 10 2020 Retrieved January 25 2020 Campion film set arrives in Dunedin Otago Daily Times March 6 2020 Retrieved March 6 2020 Hollywood star spotted on Oamaru film set Otago Daily Times March 5 2020 Retrieved December 14 2021 Hunt Tom June 18 2020 Jane Campion movie starring Cumberbatch Dunst is second film allowed in Stuff Retrieved June 18 2020 Ryan Patrick December 1 2021 Benedict Cumberbatch avoided showering for Power of the Dog I had a biohazard zone around me USA Today Retrieved January 1 2022 Sulcas Roslyn November 4 2021 Benedict Cumberbatch and the Monsters Among Us The New York Times Retrieved January 8 2022 Thomson Patricia December 2 2021 Clubhouse Conversations The Power of the Dog American Cinematographer Retrieved January 1 2022 a b Wegner Ari October 7 2021 Power of the Dog Cinematographer Ari Wegner on the Daily Storyboarding Max Before Your Brain Melts Down MovieMaker Retrieved January 1 2022 a b Macabasco Lisa Wong December 3 2021 The Power of the Dog Cinematographer Ari Wegner on Embedding With Jane Campion and Going Toe to Toe With Benedict Cumberbatch Vogue Retrieved January 1 2022 Goldrich Robert November 19 2021 Lensing The Power of the Dog and Passing Sounding Out About The Guilty Shoot Retrieved January 1 2022 McIntyre Gina October 7 2021 The Power of Jane Campion Netflix Queue Retrieved January 1 2022 Wallace Rachel November 30 2021 Turning New Zealand Into 1925 Montana for The Power of the Dog Architectural Digest Retrieved January 1 2022 a b Major Grant November 2021 Bringing Montana to New Zealand THE POWER OF THE DOG Art Directors Guild Archived from the original on January 2 2022 Retrieved January 1 2022 a b c Burlingame Jon November 17 2021 Jonny Greenwood on the Dark Power of His Music for The Power of the Dog Variety Retrieved January 1 2022 Tangcay Jazz November 29 2021 Jane Campion and Jonny Greenwood Discuss the Dark Complicated Score in The Power of the Dog Variety Retrieved January 1 2022 Ross Alex December 19 2021 How Jonny Greenwood Wrote the Year s Best Film Score The New Yorker Retrieved January 2 2022 Vivarelli Nick July 26 2021 Venice Film Festival Full Lineup Unveiled Live Updates Variety Retrieved July 26 2021 Hammond Pete September 1 2021 Telluride Film Festival Will Smith s King Richard Peter Dinklage Musical Cyrano Joaquin Phoenix In C mon C mon Ken Branagh s Belfast Set To Premiere Deadline Retrieved September 2 2021 Marcilla Max Virginia Film Festival returns to in person events in October NBC29 Retrieved October 8 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Yossman K J August 19 2021 Benedict Cumberbatch Film The Power of the Dog to Headline BFI London Film Festival Gala Variety Retrieved September 18 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Johnson Mark September 23 2021 The Middleburg Film Festival Announces First Films in 2021 Lineup Awardsdaily The Oscars the Films and everything in between Archived from the original on September 24 2021 Retrieved September 24 2021 Rubin Gideon September 9 2021 Mill Valley Film Festival Award To Go To Belfast Star Report Mill Valley CA Patch Retrieved September 18 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link George Liz September 17 2021 Montclair Film Festival To Open with Wes Anderson s The French Dispatch Baristanet Retrieved September 18 2021 Hayes Dade July 27 2021 Jane Campion s The Power Of The Dog Chosen As New York Film Festival Centerpiece Deadline Hollywood Retrieved July 27 2021 The Power of the Dog San Diego International Film Festival Archived from the original on September 18 2021 Retrieved September 18 2021 Jane Campion s THE POWER OF THE DOG to compete at San Sebastian Film Festival HLA Management Australia August 30 2021 Retrieved September 18 2021 The Power of the Dog SCAD Savannah Film Festival Retrieved October 8 2021 The Power of the Dog Zurich Film Festival in German retrieved September 18 2021 In hybrid format IFFI plans to draw big names and movies The Indian Express October 23 2021 Retrieved October 31 2021 Transmission Films transmissionfilms September 12 2021 Brava Jane Campion has won the Silver Lion award for Best Director at labiennale The Power of the Dog is in cinemas November 11 Retrieved November 1 2021 via Instagram The Power of the Dog New Zealand Film Commission Retrieved November 5 2021 Fleming Mike Jr August 23 2021 Netflix Dates Fall Movies A Whopping 42 Movies Coming At You Deadline Hollywood Retrieved August 23 2021 a b Canfeld David August 23 2021 Jane Campion Finally Made a New Movie She Gave It Everything Vanity Fair Retrieved August 23 2021 The Power of the Dog Behind The Scenes Documentary Arrives on Netflix What s on Netflix January 27 2022 a b D Alessandro Anthony March 24 2022 Oscar s Halo Effect On Best Picture Nominees Dims Not Just At Box Office But On Streaming A Scorecard Deadline Hollywood Retrieved March 24 2022 The Power of the Dog 2021 Criterion com Retrieved August 18 2022 Brueggemann Tom November 21 2021 Ghostbusters Afterlife 44 Million Opening Box Office Sets Up Sony to End the Year as a Star IndieWire Retrieved November 21 2021 D Alessandro Anthony December 6 2021 The Power Of The Dog Has Loud Bark In U S Households For Netflix Deadline Hollywood Retrieved December 7 2021 The Power of the Dog Rotten Tomatoes Fandango Media Retrieved March 29 2022 The Power of the Dog Reviews Metacritic Fandom Inc Retrieved December 7 2021 Rooney David September 2 2021 Benedict Cumberbatch in Jane Campion s The Power of the Dog Film Review The Hollywood Reporter Retrieved November 21 2021 Gleiberman Owen September 2 2021 The Power of the Dog Review Dame Jane Campion s Psychodramatic Western Is Impeccably Crafted but Lacks the Major Voices of The Piano Variety Retrieved November 21 2021 Best of 2021 Film Critic Top Ten Lists Metacritic January 23 2022 Retrieved February 3 2022 External links Edit Wikiquote has quotations related to The Power of the Dog film Montana portal Film portal LGBT portalThe Power of the Dog at IMDb The Power of the Dog on Netflix Official screenplay Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Power of the Dog film amp oldid 1131698503, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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