The Power of the Dog (2021) on Netflix
In 1925 Montana, rancher Phil Burbank belittles Rose Gordon, the widowed innkeeper his brother George courts, and her teenage son Peter. Phil believes she wants the Burbank money.
- Netflix4.1/5
- IMDb6.8/10245,046 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes94%
Trailer
Plot summary
Phil Burbank and his brother George own a large cattle ranch in Montana, and Phil remains under the sway of his late mentor, Bronco Henry. On a cattle drive in 1925 the brothers stop at an inn kept by Rose Gordon, a widow, and meet her teenage son Peter. George is drawn to Rose; Phil is not, and he suspects that she is after the family's wealth. He mocks Peter for his lisp and his manner, and his cowhands laugh along. George brings Rose to the ranch as his wife, and Peter goes away to study medicine. George invites his parents and the governor to dinner so they can hear Rose play the new piano. Phil's earlier scorn has left her too shaken to play.
Cast
- Ramontay McConnellas Theo
- David Denisas Angelo
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Power of the Dog (2021)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Paul Dano was confirmed to star in October 2019, with Kirsten Dunst cast to replace Elisabeth Moss, but by November he dropped out over scheduling conflicts with The Batman; Jesse Plemons, who had been offered the role before Dano, replaced him.
- Jane Campion had Benedict Cumberbatch in mind for Phil Burbank after his performance in the BBC drama Parade's End; he researched the Lewis and Clark Expedition, spent time on a Montana cattle ranch, and attended a three-week boot camp to learn horse-riding, rope-throwing, castrating bulls and banjo.
- Unsatisfied with the sound of Phil's banjo on screen, Jonny Greenwood played the cello like a banjo himself using the same fingerpicking technique, having chosen atonal brass over the sweeping strings typical of Westerns to convey the landscape's forbidding quality.
- The Power of the Dog was 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 Best Director nomination, her first having been for The Piano.
- Benedict Cumberbatch stayed in character as Phil Burbank throughout the production, and he and Kirsten Dunst agreed not to speak to each other on set.
- Campion's Best Director win made the film the first to win only in that category since The Graduate in 1967; its 11 losses tied the record for most in Oscars history, until Sinners surpassed it with 12.
- The mansion interiors were built later on an Auckland sound stage and modeled on Theodore Roosevelt's Sagamore Hill; with period-correct furniture scarce in New Zealand, set decorator Amber Richards sourced most objects from Los Angeles prop houses.
