Sofia Coppola praises Kirsten Dunst in ‘The Power of the Dog’
The movie award season is officially upon us with The Power of the Dog by Jane Campion leading the charge for Oscar success alongside the likes of West Side Story by Steven Spielberg and The Lost Daughter by Maggie Gyllenhaal. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons, Campion’s latest film is a revisionist western that questions the constructs of power in a rural community.
The real-life power couple Dunst and Plemons also play a husband and wife duo in the film, with Dunst’s performance standing out as one of the film’s most impressive aspects. Picking the actor after she fell “in love” with her performance in The Virgin Suicides in 1999, Jane Campion told The Hollywood Reporter: “She’s an actress I was deeply interested in. I love her, and she is that brilliant actress. She has to just put clothes on a line, and I’m riveted”.
Admiring the actor in the 1999 film, The Virgin Suicides would represent the first collaboration between Kirsten Dunst and the esteemed director Sofia Coppola who would go on to work alongside each other in subsequent films, Marie Antoinette and The Beguiled. Captivated by her acting consistency, Coppola commented on natural collaboration the two creatives share, noting, “There’s a shorthand and I can say a little thing. … I am always so excited to see what you’re going to do — it’s so fun. You always surprise me”.
A great supporter of both Jane Campion and her collaborator Kirsten Dunst, Coppola finalised her thoughts on the actor by announcing, “I’m so proud of you,” in relation to her most recent performance. Seeing The Power of the Dog at the New York Film Festival in September 2021, Coppola stated, “Of course, I love Jane, and seeing you and Jesse together. It’s so fun to hear about your work”.
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