History Film / ThePowerOfTheDog

* AmbiguousDisorder:
** Peter's awkwardness and sensitivity go a hair beyond normal. He addresses his mother by her first name and almost never shows any emotion. He also has a tendency to stim by running his thumb along the teeth of a comb.
** Lola, the servant girl at the Burbank's house, sounds and acts quite childish for an adult.
** While Rose seems pretty normal while running the Red Mill, once she marries George, she quickly regresses into an awkward and fragile mess. In spite of being a former professional piano player, the thought of playing piano for a few guests utterly terrifies her.
** Phil's childishness, dislike of the outside world and desire for structure, the disruption of which is the primary reason he hates Rose, are suggestive of someone on the spectrum.

* KickTheDog:

** When Rose is struggling whilst playing the piano, Phil decides to show off his expertise on the banjo to make her feel even worse about her mediocrity.

* ExtremelyProtectiveChild: The film opens with a voice-over narration of Peter declaring the worth of his mother's wellbeing to him, which succinctly foreshadows the extent to which he goes in protecting her from Phil's corrosive influence.[[spoiler:Seeing that Phil's emotional abuse has driven his mother to alcoholism, Peter deliberately manipulates Phil's affection for him to drive him to his death.]]

* ExtremelyProtectiveChild: [[spoiler:Seeing that Phil's emotional abuse has driven his mother to alcoholism, Peter deliberately manipulates Phil's affection for him to drive him to his death.]]

* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler: As awful as Phil could be, his death is quite pitiful, being killed by the one person he showed real affection for. Not to mention, because his intentions are quite vague, we have no idea just how much he deserved this fate. And even if he did, the sight of a horribly sick Phil seeking out Peter to give him a gift, unaware that he poisoned him, is heartbreaking.]]

* BigBad: Phil, whose abusive and toxic behavior makes everyone close to him miserable.

* AmbiguouslyGay: Peter is a shy, sensitive boy, considerably better-groomed than the rough-necked ranchers, who speaks with a lisp, has a close relationship with his mother, and makes paper flowers. And despite being at an age where his hormones should be raging, he seems to take no notice at all of the young and attractive Lola. In a late scene, [[spoiler:he makes astute questions about the nature of Phil and Bronco Henry's relationship, seeming to quickly deduce its sexual nature. Immediately afterward, he smirks suggestively at Phil and touches his face]]. Despite all this, we never get any direct confirmation of his sexuality. He might possibly [[spoiler: have faked his attraction to Phil to lure him to his death, but there's nothing presented that explicitly disproves the idea that his feelings for Phil were genuine.]]

* ManChild: Phil's macho posturing, such as his refual to bathe and hatred of women, has shades of this; not to mention his co-dependent relationship with his brother George and attempts to sabotage his relationship with Rose by complaining to their parents about her. His frequent lashing out towards others also shows an inability to control his emotions. Additionally, despite being smart enough that he could've aspired far higher, he chose the low down life of a rancher where he gets to go through life like a playground bully. And his cruelty is usually quite calculated, it can also be incredibly juvenile, like when he mocks Peter's lisp and decides to destroy something he was proud of making.

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: [[spoiler: the one time Phil doesn't show up for breakfast or start bossing people around, George knows something is horribly wrong. Phil is deathly ill at this point and is completely stripped of his usual personality, even dressing in formal attire instead of his cowboy garb and walking in a quiet daze due to the disease.]]

* AdultFear: Rose is horrified that her son has been getting closer with the man who made her miserable and drove her to alcoholism. It is not clear whether she fears Phil will hurt him in some way, or whether she simply can't bear the thought of her one source of steady affection and contact being taken from her, but either way her desperation to prevent it only gives Phil more ammunition.