Jane Campion has worked with Elisabeth Moss on the small screen via Top Of The Lake and she's now bringing that collaboration to cinemas with The Power Of The Dog. Oh, and she's also hiring some bloke called Cumberbatch that a few people might be familiar with.
Campion adapted the story from Thomas Savage's novel, which tells a story of wealthy Montana brothers Phil (Cumberbatch) and George Burbank. Phil is brilliant and cruel, while George is fastidious and gentle. Together, they are joint owners of the biggest ranch in their Montana valley. When George secretly marries local widow Rose (Moss), an angry Phil wages a relentless war to destroy her by using her son Peter as a pawn.
"The Power Of The Dog is a sublime novel that deserves a life on the big screen. I couldn’t stop thinking about the story, it really haunted me. The themes of masculinity, nostalgia and betrayal are an intoxicating mix," Campion tells *Variety. "It’s also rare to find a story where the themes, the plot and the characters build tension as they reveal each other and even the end is satisfying and unexpected. It will be the first time I’ve worked with a male lead, which is exciting. Phil is a charismatic and complex character who declares war on his brother’s new wife and her teenage son."
The plan is for the film to start gearing up at the end of the year, Cumberbatch is on screens now in Avengers: Endgame and will be heard as Satan in TV's Good Omens. Moss, last seen in Us, is back for the third season of The Handmaid's Tale, scheduled to return to US screens on 5 June.
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