of power in relationships and repressed lives. emma jones reports. this dog bites. made byjane campion in new zealand, the landscape doubling for montana of a century ago, the power of the dog is an adaptation of a thomas savage 1960s novel. it s the story of phil, portrayed by benedict cumberbatch. he s a deeply unhappy rancher who bullies his new sister in law, rose. cumberbatch says his director allowed him to inhabit the characterfor the duration of filming. right at the beginning, she said look, this is phil . you re going to meet benedict at the end of the shoot and he s really nice, but this is phil. and that was, like, it was great. itjust gave me full permission to do that without feeling self conscious. you know, because it s a way to go, it s far away from me. it was quite a transition. kirsten dunst, who campion admired for her performance