YMMV / The Power of the Dog

• Alternative Character Interpretation: All the major characters:
  • What exactly were Phil's motives for taking Peter under his wing at the time he did? Was it because he didn't know how much Peter saw in his secret glade, possibly enough to out him, and was trying to give him a reason not to want to? Was it the grooming process of a sexual predator? Did he genuinely see an opportunity to become a mentor and lover to Peter as Bronco Henry was for him? He later tries to turn Peter against Rose. Was that his main motivation and he just so happened to catch feelings for Pete along the way, or was he already interested in him and thought getting Peter on his side in that conflict would be just a bonus? Was Phil also working on being a better person actually and by then it was already too late and the damage was done?
  • What exactly were Peter's motives for giving Phil the infected hide strips at the time he did? We saw some of the preparation he did, so it clearly wasn't entirely a desperate spur-of-the-moment, but did he always plan on that result and simply saw Phil's moment of vulnerability as the chance he'd been waiting for, or was he keeping them in reserve as an emergency measure and was only prompted to use it out of fear that Rose was in imminent danger? How much respect, affection or sexual attraction did Peter ever have for Phil? What exactly are his feelings after his plan succeeds? Guilt? Triumph? Sadness? I Did What I Had to Do? Some combination of all of them?
  • Is this the only time that Peter has killed for Rose? And will he do it again? His father died "by suicide," which seems to be something that the devious Peter could easily arrange, especially since he was apparently the one to “find” the body. And why does he keep the poisonous rope beneath his bed? The last thing we see is of him gazing out at Rose and George with a smile on his face. Does he plan to "protect" Rose from him as well?
  • How much love does Rose truly feel for George, or vice versa? It's not clear how much time they actually spent together before they married, and it is pretty clear that George was desperately lonely and Rose desperately wanted to send her son to school, so was it truly "love" (at least as a modern, non-desperate person would understand it)? Was her noisy crying genuinely uncontrollable pain, or was she trying to get his attention, either to see if he could stop Phil bullying Peter, or as a prelude to seducing him? Things like George's terribly-judged gift of the grand piano and insistence that she perform despite her stated objections and clear distress, and the fact that we never see him making a serious effort to help her with her alcoholism or Phil's treatment of her suggest that he, at the very least, doesn't understand her very well at all. The only time we see her reach out to him for help (when Phil is riding off with Peter) he's either completely oblivious to why she doesn't like this, or feels no desire/ability to challenge Phil to help his wife on this matter, suggesting they are not actually that well-matched.
  • If George was the subject of more than just Phil's brotherly love, does he know or suspect this? It would certainly give him further reason to distance himself from Phil. And it could also mean that his inaction to stop Phil and Peter from getting closer isn't just obliviousness or being unwilling to stand up against it, but actually George deciding he prefers someone else attracting Phil's attention so he doesn't have to deal with it again.
• Award Snub: Though Jane Campion earned a much deserved win for her directing, the movie lost every other category at the Oscars despite being the most nominated film of the night. It was considered the frontrunner for the nearly the entire awards season, but was eclipsed by a late surge in buzz for CODA, which not only beat it out for Best Picture, but also won in two of the categories that The Power of the Dog was thought to have a good chance in—Best Supporting Actor for Kodi Smit-McPhee and Best Adapted Screenplay. It didn't help that it was shut out of the technical categories, such as Best Cinematography and Best Original Score, by Dune (2021).
• Awesome Music: Jonny Greenwood provides a lovely, atmospheric score, somewhere between his work for There Will Be Blood and Phantom Thread.
• He Really Can Act: Though already seen as a strong actor, many were pleasantly taken aback by how excellent Kodi Smit-McPhee was, with his performance earning him quite a few accolades.
• Heartwarming Moments:
  • The relationship (and eventual marriage) between George and Rose. Although both of them go through a lot, there's something deeply heartwarming about seeing two lonely people finding gentleness and love in each other. It's especially sweet when they stop their car ride home to take in the mountain view and dance.
    George: You are marvelous, Rose.
  • Although it's complicated due to being a ruse for Peter to kill Phil, Peter offering Phil cowhide to finish a lasso after Rose sold the remainder of the hide is this. After observing his cruelty for much of the movie, it's quite poignant to see Phil genuinely touched by something.
    Phil (choking back tears): Well, that's damn kind of you, Pete.
• Informed Wrongness: Phil may very well be correct that Rose was gold digging and marrying George because she needed a provider to take care of her and Peter, not because she loved him.
• It Was His Sled: Phil is gay.
• Jerkass Woobie: Although Phil is psychologically cruel and the closest thing to a villain in the story, it's clear that he's a desperately lonely man who has felt emotionally isolated for years due to his secret and his insecurities. It's hard not to feel some pity for him when he nearly breaks down and cries when Peter (under a false pretense) shows him some kindness. There's also the rather pitiable fact that he died because he finally let someone into his heart after so long, with Peter using Phil's genuine love to do him in. Not to mention it's unclear what Phil might've had in store for Rose, making it unclear just how much he deserved to die.
• Magnificent Bastard: Peter Gordon, the seemingly effeminate and mild-mannered son of Rose Gordon, reveals himself to be much more unscrupulous and cunning. Seeing Phil Burbank's emotional abuse drive his mother to alcoholism, Peter plots to kill Phil by manipulating Phil into trusting him. Getting close to Phil, Peter finds the opportunity to give Phil cow hide infected with anthrax by saying he can use it to make Peter's lasso. When Phil contracts anthrax from the hide and dies, Peter smiles at his results, satisfied that Rose and her husband are living happier lives free from Phil's influence while no one ever figures out that he killed Phil.
• Questionable Casting: Having the roughneck American cowboy being played by the famously British Benedict Cumberbatch raised plenty of eyebrows when it was announced, especially when his last attempt at an American accent in a prestige film was met with ridicule. However, everyone agreed that he did a fantastic job once the movie came out and that his accent has immensely improved. And in a way, having an actor so far removed from this type of role only adds to it, as much like Phil, he has to actively try to hide himself whilst projecting his masculinity.
• Squick:
  • A few cases. We get a look at a cow's rotting corpse, a loving close-up of Phil castrating a bull, and the sight of a dissected rabbit.
  • For a different kind of squick, the sexual tension between Phil and Peter due to them being uncle and nephew. True, they share no blood, but it's still disturbing. The idea that Phil may have also desired George counts as well. It's less explicit, but the fact that they're biological brothers makes up for that.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Lola has no influence on the plot and less than three interactions with Peter despite being played by Thomasin McKenzie, who has had several acclaimed leading roles by this point.
• The Woobie:
  • Rose, Rose, Rose. Widowed by her husband's suicide, she's left to raise her son in rural Montana, and while she eventually marries a good man in George she's so tormented by his brother that she becomes an alcoholic. Things get even worse when she sees her son becoming close with Phil after all the Hell he's put her through.
  • Peter handles Phil's abuse better than his mother, but it's clear he's been through a lot—he was the one who found his father's dead body, after all. And if you believe that he truly did care for Phil in some way, him having to murder the man to protect his mother only adds to this.
  • Less noticeable, but George applies for spending so many years with only his bullying older brother. He never got it as bad as his new wife and son and his skin seems thick, but a confession to Rose shows that he truly felt alone all that time.

---