Directed by Jane Campion (The Piano; Bright Star; Holy Smoke) and starring Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game; The Mauritanian; The Courier; The Current War; August: Osage County; Sherlock (tv series)), Kirsten Dunst (Spiderman; Hidden Figures; Wimbledon; Elizabethtown; Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind; Bring it On; Jumanji), Jesse Plemons (The Irishman; Game Night; Battleship; Jungle Cruise; Bridge of Spies) and Kodi Smit-McPhee (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes; Dolemite Is My Name; X-Men: Dark Phoenix; Deadpool 2).
Western drama; 127 mins; 16+
Set in the 1920s in Montana, Phil Burbank (Benedict Cumberbatch) and his brother George Burbank (Jesse Plemons) are cattle ranchers. While George is more the businessman, Phil like nothing more than to ride with the coyboys and work directly with the horses, a dirty and smelly occupation. When they come into town, Phil is one of the boys and treats those who server them meals, etc., with disdain and contempt, including Rose Gordon (Kirsten Dunst) and her effiminate teenage son Peter Gordon (Kodi Smit-McPhee) who likes making artistic creations, etc.
George returns and befriends Rose, then marries her, with her and her son moving into the ranch house that George and Phil share. Phil has no time for Rose, who despises him and is suspicious of everything he does. While George is away, she starts drinking and some days cannot even face getting out of bed. To complicate (or possibly trying to clarify issues too), George invites his parents (and the governor and his wife) to dinner at their house, at which Rose afraid to play the piano for them, probably as she does not want to betray her saloon background; also, Phil does not join them until after the meal, and then he is downright rude and insulting to the small group.
Phil continues to mock Rose and both torment and taunt Peter, but then starts to befriend him and take him under his wing, but does he have an ulterior motive? Emotions are kept private, hardly ever discussed, which make it difficult to read the characters. Is Phil gay? His past is never explored and he does not seem to have any female relationships, instead preferring to hang out with the cowhands. Is he grooming Peter while he tries to teach him how to ride a horse and to make him a lassoo?
Sometimes slow-moving with beautiful cinematography, the characters are built steadily over the two-hour film, with a surprising twist at the end. A love story with a difference.
Currently being screened at Ciné Utopia in Luxembourg.
