Benedict Cumberbatch as Phil Burbank in 'The Power of the Dog' on Netflix Show
The Power of the Dog, written and directed by Jane Campion, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemmons and Kodi Smit-McPhee, and available to stream on Netflix NFLX since December 1, is one of the best films of 2021. It is certainly one of the most haunting films of this year, its seething mood lingering long after the end credits have finished rolling. The Power of the Dog is set in 1925 Montana. The Burbank brothers, a charismatic and ruthless Phil (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) and the quiet George (played by Jesse Plemmons), are wealthy ranchers living together. George marries Rose (played by Kirsten Dunst)—a widowed proprietress of a restaurant—after Phil is cruel towards her son Peter (played by Kodi Smit-McPhee). When Rose moves to the ranch, Phil delects in taunting her and openly mocks her son, cheered on by Phil's cowhand disciples. This is until Phil appears to take Peter under his wing. The film is adapted from Thomas Savage's novel. The Power of the Dog renders the open vastness of the plains and mountains of Montana to feel like an enclosure. Its characters are each trapped in their current state, unable to move or better their situation. The ominous mood that pervades the film is further accentuated by Jonny Greenwood's absolutely mesmerizing score. Jesse Plemmons as George Burbank and Kirsten Dunst as Rose in 'The Power of the Dog' on Netflix. Kirsty Griffin/NetflixThere is a quiet calmness to the pace of this film that contrasts with the mounting discord between the characters. Trouble is brewing underneath this seemingly calm and beautiful landscape. The director of The Piano, An Angel at my Table, and Bright Star has here again created a powerful psychodrama. Benedict Cumberbatch's Phil is cruel and mean, but one senses the charm and respect he induces from his cowhands, who keep asking him for his advice. Jessie Plemmons' George is the opposite of his brother. Gentle and kind, he takes care of his own appearance. There is a quiet tension to Plemmons' performance that points to his growing dislike of his brother. This silent strained relationship between Phil and George is here so perfectly suggested. Phil keeps calling his brother "fatso," demeaning him in front of everyone. George's response is to keep quiet, and appear to ignore his brother. There is a sense that George has long learnt that there is no point in responding. But while Phil is cruel to him, the film carefully and subtly suggests the love he has for his brother, as he waits for him to return to their lodgings to sleep at the beginning of the film, for example. Kodi Smit-McPhee as Peter in 'The Power of the Dog' on Netflix. The arrival of Rose adds another layer of distance between Phil and his brother, which is perhaps why Phil enjoys tormenting her. Kirsten Dunst is here at her best, as she portrays Rose crumbling and disintegrating from the sly abuse she gets from Phil. Her growing fragility becomes visibly palpable through Dunst's performance. Only Peter's presence will chip at Phil's cruel attitude. Kodi Smit-McPhee is entrancing as Peter. With his lanky demeanor, he is perhaps one of the strongest characters in this film. His relationship with Phil, once the proud rancher stops mocking him, adds another dimension to Phil's character, one that is filled with contradictions and that hides a deep secret. Lists of the best 2021 films have been pouring in this past month. I can't admit to having seen all the films released in 2021 to create such a list, but of the ones I have watched, The Power of the Dog is certainly on top of my list. The ending of the film is a tour de force, showing the audience everything that happened without telling or spelling it out. This is a story that lingers in the mind long after the film ends. 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. Read critic reviews If you're ready to saddle up for a slow ride, The Power of the Dog's great acting and interesting ideas make the journey
worthwhile. Read audience reviews The Power of the Dog VideosThe Power of the Dog PhotosMovie InfoSevere, pale-eyed, handsome, Phil Burbank is brutally beguiling. All of Phil's romance, power and fragility is trapped in the past and in the land: He can castrate a bull calf with two swift slashes of his knife; he swims naked in the river, smearing his body with mud. He is a cowboy as raw as his hides. The year is 1925. The Burbank brothers are wealthy ranchers in Montana. At the Red Mill restaurant on their way to market, the brothers meet Rose, the widowed proprietress, and her impressionable son Peter. Phil behaves so cruelly he drives them both to tears, reveling in their hurt and rousing his fellow cowhands to laughter -- all except his brother George, who comforts Rose then returns to marry her. As Phil swings between fury and cunning, his taunting of Rose takes an eerie form -- he hovers at the edges of her vision, whistling a tune she can no longer play. His mockery of her son is more overt, amplified by the cheering of Phil's cowhand disciples. Then Phil appears to take the boy under his wing. Is this latest gesture a softening that leaves Phil exposed, or a plot twisting further into menace?
Cast & CrewNews & Interviews for The Power of the DogCritic Reviews for The Power of the DogAudience Reviews for The Power of the DogWhat is the meaning of the Netflix movie The Power of the Dog?Campion describes her movie's title as a “kind of warning.” She explains, “The power of the dog is all those urges, all those deep, uncontrollable urges that can come and destroy us.” The best way to avoid this destruction is by examining who we really are—and in the end, Phil's downfall is his inability to do this.
Will Power of the Dog be on Netflix?Yes, The Power of the Dog is a Netflix original released on the streaming service on Dec. 1, 2021.
Is The Power of the Dog LGBT?Elliott's comments about the “allusions of homosexuality” are correct in that the film suggests that both Phil and Peter are gay. Phil had an important mentor in the unseen Bronco Henry, and the film implies that there was an element of homosexuality in Phil and Henry's relationship.
Is The Power of the Dog a true story?Netflix's The Power of the Dog, which won Best Director at the 2022 Oscars, tells a complex and gritty adaptation of a novel that itself is partly based on a true story and inspired by the real-life experiences of its author, Thomas Savage.
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