by Gill Pringle
Now a hot contender for multiple awards, including recent Screen Actors’ Guild nods for Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst and Kodi Smit-McPhee, Campion wasn’t even looking to make a film when she read Thomas Savage’s compelling 1967 novel of the same name, declaring Phil Burbank (played by Cumberbatch) as one of the all-time great American characters.
In her Behind the Scenes feature, Campion reveals how her own childhood experience of “living in a house of horror and fear” helped create the film’s sense of tension and foreboding.
Relating how, from the age of five to ten, she and her sister had a vicious nanny who secretly beat the girls, although they were too scared to tell their parents, The Power of the Dog brought back those memories, especially as she undertook unusual “dream work”.
Ahead of the mini-documentary’s release, Campion talks to FilmInk.
And, if you have ever wondered how to start an essay then this may be a good example.
What made The Power of the Dog a different working experience for you than anything else you’ve ever done?
“It’s obvious, but I think it’s worth saying, is that there were a lot more men in the cast than I’ve normally worked with. And that did create a different vibe to begin with. And women are great at bonding, and just cutting through everything, and sharing vulnerabilities straight off. So, I found that the process with men is a little scary for me, because it’s much slower. And, it wasn’t until we got to a certain stage when you just realise, actually, gender is unimportant. We’re friends. And the rules of friendship took over for me with Ben and Jesse, and it’s just about being open, sharing, being vulnerable with each other, and telling truth. But the ways that men and women get there are really different, I think. And I had to just cope with that until we really felt like that friendship vibe was just so present. It was exciting to be in a place with a lot of men and feel close to them – in a really lovely way. So that was very different.”
How did you bring and A-lister like Benedict Cumberbatch on board, and to what extent did you make it clear to him how much this was going to involve?
“Well, it was something that was really worrying and bothering me that, I knew that anyone who was gonna really do a good job with Phil Burbank would have to put in an enormous amount of work, if they weren’t already a good horse rider, or didn’t grow up on a ranch like Jesse Plemons did. They would have to put that time into making all that stuff feel second nature and, at the same time, he had to have a sort of intellectual capacity, because Phil Burbank was university educated and could read Greek and Latin. So, it was a big job, and it was really hard in Hollywood, because you don’t really get to meet people. You have to put out offers without knowing if anybody’s even interested, or what they’re doing, or if they’re completely busy. And this all takes so long to go through that process.
“We put out a couple of offers, and those people weren’t in the position to take it. But then I just said, ‘Hey, let’s just stop. I reckon the agents all know that we’ve got this project. And let’s see who actually comes towards us, who’s interested because they’re gonna have to be super interested to do this work.’ And it didn’t take very long for Benedict’s agent to contact us and say, ‘Ben wants to do this.’ And he actually was on my list because he’s an extraordinary actor, he’s charismatic, and can do vulnerable work, and I’ve been a follower of his for some time. And so, when I met him, I said, ‘This is gonna take a lot of time. Have you got that time? Because if you don’t, I don’t think you should do it. You’re gonna have to do work on a ranch in Montana and you’re gonna have to learn so many things, and horse riding’s not something you learn instantly. Plus, it’s a really deep and dark place to go. And I think that’s a whole other exploration that me and you have to figure out, how we’re gonna orchestrate and create it.’”
That sounds a lot. Did it take him long to decide?
“I think all those challenges excited him, actually, because you’re never gonna create something very exciting or new if you don’t bring something to the party. I needed an actor who really wanted that challenge, and was at that point in their life where they wanted to go really deep, and that’s exactly what Ben was looking for. So, we had a great week in London very early on, and I love to get close to an actor while I have the first opportunity to befriend them a long way in advance of actually sitting down to start the rehearsal process. Just because I know how the things work in the brain; that the brain is working without you even being there; like he’s starting to think about it, and you’ve earned a little space in his thinking, and his psyche that is already going to spawn all sorts of interesting material. One time, Ben organised for us to go to the National Portrait Gallery in London before the public came in, which was very sweet of him to do. And we were just going through the gallery looking for who we thought was Phil or Bronco Henry. It was sort of a game that we played together. And we found a painting by Sigmund Freud of a really arrogant looking guy, a nude, I think, actually. And it was really instrumental. I carried an image from that in my folder just to remember him.”
Prior to Bright Star with Ben Whishaw, all your films were female centred. Is The Power of the Dog part of a masculine focused series?
“It’s so interesting to see what you end up doing because it feels like you learn about yourself by watching what you chose to do in the end. My decisions seem to come from places I don’t really access. So, when you fall in love with a piece of work, you like the story. At a certain point, I’m like, ‘oh my goodness, this is interesting; it’s basically all about masculinity which isn’t really my territory normally.’ And I really do think that the work that those brave women did in revealing their situation, within an industry that was so abusive and spawned the #MeToo Movement has really altered everything for me. And how supported that movement was by not just women but men as well. And how different it feels somewhere deep inside me to be in the industry today; to be actually feeling that people are interested in how women’s sensitivities are seen. But there really is a feeling now, I think, of freedom not to have to tell only women’s stories. Because previously there was just not enough of them, and it felt like a betrayal to do anything else. I do think that those brave women, and some men too, were so courageous to create a different cultural environment for women now. I know it’s just begun and still the numbers aren’t pleasing, but it doesn’t feel charitable anymore to work with a woman. It’s actually good business, which is such a refreshing place to be, I think.”
How do you feel about this film being entered into the queer canon?
“I’m excited about it. Thomas Savage who wrote this book was a queer man. I just really love him and his courage, and everything about who he actually really was. I love thinking about what his character Phil Burbank’s relationship with Bronco Henry, might really be. I think it brought me into an imaginative space of what gay love would be, and I found myself really excited and surprised to be imagining and thinking, you know, like, ‘Oh, would they be ashamed?’ And I thought, ‘no, I don’t think so because when you really love someone and your body is saying it’s all good, it can’t be anything else but kind of beautiful.’ I think Bronco and Phil could have had an incredibly powerful, strong, beautiful relationship – and a sexual relationship too. And I enjoyed thinking about all those things.”

Reading more about Thomas Savage, it’s clear that his book is very closely aligned with his real life. In adapting his novel, what were some of the things from Savage’s own life that felt either important to leave in or important to take out?
“There were other narrative lines that I did leave out. Like, for example, Kodi’s character, Peter, seeing Phil humiliate his father early on. Which I felt was actually a little bit cheesy and unlikely to have happened. So, it was a good loss, and we had enough going already, and more mystery. It wasn’t just a revenge story anymore, it could go beyond that. Also, for Thomas Savage, writing in 1967, it was difficult to be as explicit as we can be now about Phil’s sensuality and what might have really happened between him and Bronco. Some people read that book and didn’t even realise that was a gay lover for him! What’s so beautiful is I feel like he took me to some places that were not explored in the book. The scene where Phil is making the rope is just such an obvious scene that I just couldn’t wait to write and film and make. And the rope, especially for ranchers, is a symbol of masculinity and dominance – and now the rope becomes one of friendship and romantic friendship. But it’s also a weapon, as Peter creates it. The rope becomes a complete symbol for the entire story in a way, because of the four threads of the rope.”
The past two years of Covid have been quite depressing in terms of the future of cinema. What’s your take?
“I obviously wanted this film to be a good argument for cinema. I do think there’s no point in arguing for cinema without good films. They do require a special kind of focus and attention which, in my view, a lot of the filmmakers this year have created beautiful work that I’d love to see in the cinema. But it’s not always possible because of Covid but, I think there are a lot of really great works out there. And we do need them because cinema is made by the films. Look, maybe [this film] has brought me forward a little bit as a personality. And my friends probably think, ‘do you really need to come any further forward?!’ But the acceptance really does hit something deep in you that means a lot. Because, I think, in many, many ways, I am working because of the beautiful mastery of cinema that I witnessed in the ‘70s when I began, and was wanting to give back to that tradition. And maybe this film is in some ways doing that. There’s been a lot of recognition, even from classic filmmakers, which really does something to my heart. And it’s changing and beautiful and I’m really grateful. And where you are now in this stage of your life, and how much longer you’ve got on the planet, things like that, all play into it. I mean, filmmaking is great, but it is just one game in town, and you’ve got the whole shape of a life and, for me, it’s not as long anymore.”
Behind The Scenes with Jane Campion is streaming now