The Power of the Dog – Netflix release

Oscar winner Jane Campion’s new film, The Power of the Dog, will be released on Netflix in the UK next week, 1 December, following its cinema release. 

Starring Hollywood heavyweights Benedict Cumberbatch and Kirsten Dunst, the Western set in New Zealand marks Campion’s return to feature film directing in 12 years. It follows the story of a domineering rancher (Cumberbatch) who responds with mocking cruelty when his brother brings home a new wife (Dunst) and her son, until the unexpected comes to pass.

Campion, who is from New Zealand, decided to take on the project after reading Thomas Savage’s 1967 novel of the same name. ‘I was actually thinking of retiring before I did this film,’ she says, ‘but then I thought, “Oh man, this is gonna be a big one.” I’d read the book and loved it and afterwards I just kept thinking about it. When I made a move to find out who had the rights, that’s when I knew it had got me. I needed to do it.’