‘Attack of the Dogs’ silent fury towards Oscar consecration

A little more than two months before the ceremony of the Oscar 2022, Attack of the Dogs (The Power of the Dog) emerges as an unlikely favorite in the race for the top prizes.

“Improbable” not because it is a western film directed by a woman (the award-winning Jane Campion) or because it was released primarily on a streaming platform (Netflix), but because it addresses a subject that is still taboo within the genre: homosexuality in conservative interior of the United States.

Set in 1925, it centers on rustic cowboy Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch) and his strained and tortuous relationship with his sister-in-law Rose (Kirsten Dunst) and her teenage son Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee).

What appears to be a typical bullying relationship between the aggressive Phil and the gentle Peter becomes a slow game of mutual seduction, with few words and not discreet innuendo.

The sexuality of the protagonists is offered as bait for the public, who thinks they are witnessing the construction of a homosexual relationship between uncle and nephew. Slightly getting into spoilers, after all, it turns out that the movie isn’t (only) about that.

With a script written by Jane Campion herself (adapted from the book by American author Thomas Savage), “Attack of the Dogs” was filmed in the director’s homeland, New Zealand, which simulates the bucolic scenarios of the state of Montana, stage of the story. original.

Filled with lush landscapes and energized by great performances (Jesse Plemons completes the main cast as George, Phil’s quiet brother), the film also relies on long silent sequences and a focus on seemingly insignificant details, demanding the audience’s redoubled attention, or a second check, to be understood.

It is a rare Western without weapons or violence (although the castration of an ox is shown in detail), committed to contradicting the clichés of the genre – especially with regard to the behavior of the male characters.

“In general, the traditional western helped to build a type of tough masculinity, which men assumed for themselves as desirable”, explains Guacira Lopes Louro, doctor in education and author of “Flor de Açafrão” (Ed. Autêntica), in which he dissects the issue of sexuality in cultural works. “In these films, the man could have a very strong bond of friendship and loyalty with other men, but without slipping into a loving connection.”

As for “Attaque dos Estados”, “there are many readings and layers”, Guacira adds. “Sexuality is a very important central issue that runs through the story, but the film is more than that. I wouldn’t say it’s a mere ‘gay western’. What matters here is the tension on the issue of sexualities and showing the opposite of what is expected of male behavior in that space.”

“Within a more classic perspective of the western, ‘Attaque dos Estados’ breaks expectations”, agrees Cyntia Calhado, critic and professor of the Film and Audiovisual course at ESPM-SP. “But the film is connected to the deconstruction process that all film genres are currently going through.”

For Bruno Carmelo, critic and editor of the site Papo de Cinema, the merit of Attack of the Dogs lies precisely in the boldness with which it breaks established standards. “The film plays with our prejudices and assumptions of a society that is heteronormative and patriarchal, and that every man is heterosexual until proven otherwise,” he says.

“It’s a film about homosexuality that starts from a biblical Psalm. That alone is a big provocation.”

Attack of the Dogs X Brokeback Mountain

Conflict and contradiction were also part of the life of Thomas Savage, a modestly successful writer who specialized in Western themes, in stories loaded with accurate descriptions of country life, male characters in conflict and subliminal autobiographical touches.

Although married to a woman (also writer Elizabeth Fitzgerald), he had several extramarital relationships with men and never came out publicly until his death in 2003.

Launched in 1967, the book “Attack dos Doges” was Savage’s most critically acclaimed work, but it was short-lived and fell into oblivion until it was re-released in 2001. Annie Proulx, best known for being the author of the short story “Brokeback Mountain” (1997), which inspired the movie “Brokeback Mountain” (2005) – in turn, also a story about the love relationship between two cowboys.

Interestingly, Annie Proulx was not familiar with the work of Thomas Savage when she wrote “Brokeback Mountain”. In the afterword, she says that it was the writer himself who came to her to say that he had read her story and enjoyed it, in addition to sending her a copy of “Attack dos Dogs”.

Despite keeping in touch for a few years, the two never met in person. Just confirming what appears to be an organic connection between the sagas, director Jane Campion made a point of consulting Annie Proulx during the creation of the script for “Attack of the Dogs”.

The truth is that, despite the thematic similarities, “Brokeback Mountain” and “Attack of the Dogs” could not be more opposite in their approaches. “These are two Western films that have men and homosexuality in the middle, but the way they are handled is radically different”, says Bruno Carmelo.

“In ‘Brokeback Mountain,’ the theme was romantic love between two men who can’t be together, but as a story, it’s a classic film, based on catharsis. ‘Attack of the Dogs’ is about masculinity and virility, and the acceptance of these characters with themselves. It’s a heartbreaking movie. In psychological terms, it is much more sophisticated.˜

“The proposal of both is to deconstruct the ideal of masculinity propagated by the classic western and question patriarchy as a value that sustains this genre”, adds Cyntia Calhado.

‘Brokeback Mountain’ was explicitly scathing in its focus on the homosexual relationship between two cowboys. ‘Attack of the Dogs’, due to Jane Campion’s authorial characteristics, is a film with more subtleties.

Cyntia Calhado, film critic and teacher

Guacira Lopes Louro agrees: “’Brokeback Mountain’ was a break that shocked by showing that friendship between men could also be loving. In ‘Attack of the Dogs’, sexuality is repressed, but it is also a very intense element”.

Chances no Oscar?

Recent award win Golden Globe in the Best Dramatic Film category doesn’t necessarily guarantee that “Attack of the Dogs” will have the same luck at the hottest Oscars, whose ceremony is scheduled for March 27.

There is a taboo that, despite being frequently nominated, films produced by Netflix rarely win in the main categories of the awards. In addition, the release prioritized on a streaming service and limited to a few theaters makes it difficult to measure the size of the movie’s audience and its real popularity.

However, recent results indicate that Academy members have rethought the criteria for choosing their winners. “It’s increasingly difficult to know what an ‘Oscar-winning’ film is. It used to be very clear, it had to be a super production with big budgets. But [os vencedores dos últimos dois anos] ‘Parasite’ and ‘Nomadland’ are not that”, says Bruno Carmelo. “’Attack of the Dogs’ will be nominated and may win, but it’s not what you would consider a ‘popular movie’.”

“The Western is a genre that is difficult to enter, because it is more contemplative, the action is slower. And even with famous actors, it looks very much like an ‘art film’”, ponders Cyntia Calhado. Even so, she bets on Attack of the Dogs as the winner of the main award, “precisely because it is a different approach to a classic genre, as well as a freshness for the Academy that has been sought after for years”.

In addition to the likely Best Supporting Actor award for Kodi Smit-McPhee, the prognosis is also favorable for Jane Campion, which would make her the third woman in history to win in the Best Director category (in 1993, she won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for “The Piano”).

“Which would be very fair, because we are on this wave of rewarding women filmmakers more”, concludes Cyntia. “This 30. So, nothing fairer than a woman who has that look to be awarded.”