Kodi Smit-McPhee | The Power of the Dog Revelation

In Jane Campion’s new film, the Australian actor plays an atypical young man who finds himself on a ranch in Montana in 1925. For Kodi Smit-McPhee, whose performance was unanimously praised, the experience was so striking that ‘he even had to mourn his character. Meeting with a multi-talented artist.

Marc-André Lussier
Press

The day after the world premiere of The Power of the Dog, at the Venice Film Festival, it was said of him that he was a revelation, that he would undoubtedly find himself in a good position for the next trophy season, that his performance would inevitably take his career to a higher gear. In The Hollywood Reporter, we could also see his face under the heading Next Big Thing. Sometimes reminiscent of Théodore Pellerin for the look and Timothée Chalamet for the style, Kodi Smit-McPhee is however not a newcomer.

Born 25 years ago in Adelaide, Australia, the actor has already worked for several years, his first professional credits dating back to childhood. Viggo Mortensen’s preteen son in The Road, the adaptation of the post-apocalyptic novel by Cormac McCarthy (brought to the screen by John Hillcoat), it was him.

“What can seem like an overnight success sometimes takes 10 years to prepare,” he noted during a videoconference interview with Press. I welcome everything that happens to me now with great humility. I could never have foreseen or dreamed what I am going through today. The Power of the Dog is a crucial step in a journey that I see as a slow evolution. I try to take things as they come, without thinking of a career plan. ”

Like an abandonment

Thanks to The Power of the Dog, Kodi Smit-McPhee will undoubtedly make an impression with moviegoers around the world. However, this film by Jane Campion, which had not offered a feature film intended for the big screen for 12 years, above all has personal resonances in the eyes of the main interested party. In this adaptation of the novel by Thomas Savage, set in the state of Montana in 1925, the actor plays Peter, the son of Rose (Kirsten Dunst), a widow who, by marrying George (Jesse Plemons), one of the two brothers running a ranch, raises the ire of Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch), his new brother-in-law. Determined to make life impossible for the one who broke the fraternal alliance, Phil, whose inner garden seems fairly well stocked, also attacks the young man, whose appearance and actions do not correspond at all to the idea he has of virility.

“Peter gives the impression of being naive, weak and delicate, but he quickly proves the opposite,” explains Kodi Smit-McPhee. He is a powerful person, with a strong will, and whose mind is free. As an actor, the challenge was to make all the ambiguity and mystery of the character tangible. “

To nourish his interpretation, Benedict Cumberbatch borrowed, at the suggestion of the director of The Piano, the famous “method”, the one whereby you draw on your own emotional memory to bring out emotions. The British actor thus retained the personality of his character even when the camera was not rolling.

“In life, Benedict is the typical Englishman, polite and always ready to apologize,” says his playing partner. Sometimes he had to erase his personality traits because Phil is very hostile to everyone. A kind of domino effect followed, because we all felt the need to each stay in our bubble. Jane always finds the best possible way to get the best out of comedians and invites us to look for things ourselves that we hadn’t thought of. She does not impose anything, but the sum of talents she brings together ensures that everyone subscribes to her vision of things. It is magic. ”

What cinema should be

Kodi Smit-McPhee indicates that by digging his character from the inside, Peter has found a niche in him. To the point that it was difficult to part with it. He even feels a form of absence from it, even today.

“It looks like melancholy, or a bittersweet feeling,” he says. It’s like I miss Peter. When I saw that I would no longer be putting on her shoes, it really affected me. But Peter now belongs to the world. And I find that very beautiful. ”

The actor also keeps a vivid memory of the moment he saw the completed film on the big screen.

“I believe that in the face of such an accomplished artistic work, words are no longer necessary because each individual can derive a personal interpretation from them,” he maintains.

Asked to clarify his thoughts, Kodi Smit-McPhee indicates that the times in which we live encourage to consume everything quickly and easily. In another time, the viewer was invited to become more involved in a work and to remove all the substance, something much rarer now, according to him.

” The Power of the Dog does not give anything cooked in the spout, he explains. This film invites exploration and is one of those thought-provoking works that will haunt you for a while. I am convinced that the cinema is here for good because it is necessary to have access to works which do not fall into oblivion immediately after being seen. ”

An artist

Living in Los Angeles for a few years, Kodi Smit-McPhee, who also stars in the film about Elvis Presley as Baz Luhrmann (red Mill) just toured, also enjoys exploring other forms of artistic expression. He plays the guitar, composes, sings, writes, engages in painting and photography. Perhaps one day he will want to publicly present the other facets of his talent, but he is not there yet.

“I love to play passionately. The other disciplines help me refresh myself creatively, as if they involve different parts of my brain. The urge to communicate with people through other art forms is also present. We’ll see ! ”

The Power of the Dog (The power of the dog in French) is presented in its original version at the Cinéma Moderne. It will appear in its original version with French subtitles on November 19 at the Cinéma du Musée and on November 22 at the Cinémathèque québécoise. It will be available on Netflix on 1^er December.