THE POWER OF THE DOG

The year is 1925. The Burbank brothers, Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch) and George (Jesse Plemons), are wealthy, bachelor ranchers in Montana. At the Red Mill restaurant on their way to market, the brothers meet Rose (Kirsten Dunst), the widowed proprietress, and her impressionable, sensitive son Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee). Phil, charismatic and cruel, drives them both to tears as he revels in their hurt and rouses his fellow cowhands to laughter – all except his mild-mannered brother George, who comforts Rose and soon returns to marry her. George brings Rose and her son back to the home he shares with Phil, who is seething at what he considers a betrayal by his brother. Phil swings between fury and cunning, with his taunting of Rose and his macho mockery of her son. In a surprising shift, Phil begins to take Peter under his wing -- his motives curious and unclear. Acclaimed director/screenwriter Jane Campion (The Piano) helms a stellar ensemble cast, with stunning, majestic cinematography by Ari Wegner, MFF’s 2021 Distinguished Cinematographer Honoree.