Of Cumberbatch, Campion said, “There’s no Benedict there.” As for Kodi Smit-McPhee, who plays the skittish young son of Kirsten Dunst’s character, Campion said, “Kodi is better than the character of Peter that’s written.” She’s referring to the 1967 novel by Thomas Savage, which sets up an opera’s worth of psychological intrigue, sexual currents, and violence — all of which Campion compresses into the Netflix feature. The Academy Award winner (“The Piano”) just secured Best Director from the New York Film Critics Circle, with Cumberbatch and Smit-McPhee also picking up Actor and Supporting Actor prizes, respectively.
“The Power of the Dog” is now streaming on Netflix. Watch an exclusive behind-the-scenes featurette below, and read this from David Ehrlich’s take on why it’s the best film of 2021:
For all of the film’s biblical grandeur, “The Power of the Dog” never insists upon itself. There isn’t a moment in the movie that lacks vision, but the whole thing exudes a tremblingly quiet strength. Just as Savage’s plainspoken novel found the author flexing the invisible muscles he developed over a lifetime of fighting his own desire, Campion’s equally poignant film leverages repressed passion into an unexpected show of strength. “The Power of the Dog” sticks its teeth into you so fast and furtively that you may not feel the sting on your skin until after the credits roll, but the delayed bite of the film’s ending doesn’t stop it from leaving behind a well-earned scar. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
