Sam Elliott, a veteran actor, recently found himself in deep water after criticizing Jane Campion’s Oscar-nominated film The Power of the Dog. During an interview with Marc Maron on the WTF podcast earlier this week, the Yellowstone actor labeled the picture “a piece of s**t” for its portrayal of the American West:
“What the f*** does this lady from New Zealand know about the American West? And why in the f*** does she film this in New Zealand, name it Montana, and say, ‘This is how it was?’ That rubbed me the wrong way, mate.”
Sam Elliott also voiced his dissatisfaction with the film’s depiction of LGBTQ+ cowboys. Many netizens were upset by his comments, using social media to ridicule the actor for his statements.
A look into Sam Elliot’s critique of ‘The Power of the Dog.’
While Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog has the most nominations for the 2022 Academy Awards, actor Sam Elliott was unhappy with the highly praised picture. During a recent visit on the WTF podcast to promote his next Yellowstone prequel, 1883, Elliott expressed his dissatisfaction with The Power of the Dog:
“There was a full-page ad in the Los Angeles Times, and there was a review, not a review, but a snippet, and it spoke about the ‘evisceration of the American narrative.’ And I said to myself, ‘What the f**k?'”
The 77-year-old also likened the film’s depiction of cowboys to Chippendales dancers:
“They made it seem as though — who are all those dancers, those men in New York who wear bowties and not much else? Do you remember them from your childhood? The’s how all of the f***ing cowboys in that movie look.”
The star of The Quick and the Dead went on to critique the film’s “allusions” to the LGBTQ+ community:
“Throughout the f***ing film, there are several references to homos**uality. That, I believe, is the subject of the film.”
Elliott even criticized the film’s portrayal of closeted rancher Phil Burbank (played by Benedict Cumberbatch):“Cumberbatch, on the other hand, never got out of his f***ing chaps… He’d come in from someplace, he’d never been on a horse, maybe once, he’d storm up the f***ing stairs, go lie on his bed in his chaps, and play his banjo.”
Despite calling Jane Campion a “great” filmmaker in the past, Sam Elliott continued to trash her new gothic thriller:
“I recently returned from Texas, where I spent time with families — not guys — but families. Big, lengthy, extensive, multiple-generation families that made a career and a life out of being cowboys. And when I watched that [film], I was like, ‘What the f***? ‘Where are we in this planet right now?'”
The Power of the Dog explores Phil Burbank’s identity issues and hatred towards his new sister-in-law and her child. It tracks his journey from hating to loving his family and covers love, hatred, despair, jealousy, and s**uality.
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Twitter responds to Sam Elliott’s comments on ‘The Power of the Dog.’
The Power of the Dog, based on Thomas Savage’s 1967 book, premiered on September 2, 2021. This film has the most Oscar nominations and three Golden Globes. The American Film Institute named it one of the best films of 2021, and it made Campion the first woman to win two Oscars for best director after The Piano in 1993. Sam Elliott sharply criticized the film and its director. It’s uncertain if Jane Campion will respond to Sam Elliott’s film review as internet opinions pour in. Meanwhile, the latter has remained silent on his reaction to his social media critique.
Sam Elliott’s comments about The Power of the Dog and Jane Campion were extremely queerphobic and misogynist & I hate him for that.
— 𝚁𝚊𝚓𝚊𝚋 𝙰𝚕𝚖𝚞𝚔𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚖 (@RajabAlmukarrom) March 1, 2022
