Jane Campion’s «The Power of the Dog» starring Benedict Cumberbatch premieres at the Venice Film Festival and hits theaters Nov. 17.
Benedict Cumberbatch’s character in Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog” is described as “severe, pale-eyed, handsome” and “brutally beguiling.” And seeing him don a stetson and whistle with sheer menace in the film’s first teaser certainly fits that description. But he’s also an unusual focal point for director Jane Campion (“The Piano”). “The Power of the Dog” is not just her first feature film since 2009’s “Bright Star.” It’s also the first film she’s done with a male protagonist, bringing her distinct feminist — and Australian — sensibility to an American Western about masculinity.
