History Film / ThePowerOfTheDog

* AmbiguouslyEvil: Phil's treatment of Rose makes it very clear he's a bad guy. However, it's unclear if [[spoiler: he was preparing near the end to take fatal action against her, with him dying before he can make any kind of retaliation over her selling his rawhides. His words certainly are threatening, but the whole situation is still quite ambiguous.]]

* KickTheDog: After he finds out his brother George is marrying Rose, Phil furiously whips a horse for no reason.

* ManChild: Phil's macho posturing, such as his refual to bathe, has shades of this; not to mention his co-dependent relationship with his George and attempts to sabotage his relationship with Rose by complaining to their parents about her.

* HarmfulToMinors: Peter was the one to discover his birth father's hanging corpse after he committed suicide. It's implied that he was quite young when this happened.

* HarmfulToMinors: Peter was the one to discover his birth father's hanging corpse after he committed suicide at what was implied to have been quite a young age.

* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler:Peter and Rose deal with a great deal of abuse from Phil, but by the end, Peter has literally gotten away with murder, and Rose is newly sober and happy with George.]]

* AnswerCut: The doctor tells George that he thinks Phil died of anthrax. A puzzled George says that Phil never touched diseased animals. The film then cuts to Peter--who is holding the rope that Phil made for him, the rope that Phil made from the hide that Peter gave him. And when he's holding the rope, Peter is using gloves.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tpotd.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''[[Literature/BookOfPsalms "Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from]] [[TitleDrop the power of the dog."]]]]''

''The Power of the Dog'' is a 2021 [[TheWestern Western]] directed by Creator/JaneCampion, based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Savage. It stars Creator/BenedictCumberbatch, Creator/JessePlemons, Creator/KirstenDunst, Creator/KodiSmitMcPhee, Creator/ThomasinMcKenzie, and Creator/KeithCarradine.

The movie premiered at the 2021 Venice International Film Festival. It was released in select theaters on November 17, 2021, and then on Netflix on December 1, 2021. The trailer can be seen [[https://youtu.be/LRDPo0CHrko here]].

* TragicVillain: Phil is an ''awful'' man, but the fact much of of his abusive, bullying demeanour[[spoiler: is implied to be a mask for the self-hatred he feels for being gay lends him a measure of sympathy]].

* YouAreTooLate: [[spoiler:Any attempt Phil might have been making to make amends for any of his actions before were in vain as Peter had already sealed his fate]].

* TitleDrop: A passage from the Book of Psalms "deliver me from the power of the dogs" is read at Phil's funeral. Peter later leafs through a Bible to re-read the passage.

* YouAreTooLate: [[spoiler:Any attempt Phil might have been making to make amends for nay of his actions before were in vain as Peter had already sealed his fate]].

* Malaproper: Phil exclusively pronounces piano as 'pinano,' likely on purpose.

* NoodleIncident: When talking about sex workers he and his brother have slept with, Phil brings up one he calls the "tomato soup queen." Precisely ''why'' she has such a unique nickname is never explained.

Phil Burbank (Cumberbatch) is a powerful rancher in Montana in 1925. One day, his world is turned upside down when his younger brother George (Plemons) marries Rose (Dunst), a widowed proprietress, and moves her and her son Peter ([=Smit-McPhee=]) onto the ranch. Phil initially tries to drive them away through mockery and intimidation, but eventually appears to take Peter under his wing with motivations that may be sinister but also hide untold secrets and the possibility of love.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tpotd.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''[[Literature/BookOfPsalms "Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from]] [[TitleDrop the power of the dog."]]]]''

->"''When my father passed, I wanted nothing more than my mother’s happiness. For what kind of man would I be if I did not help my mother? If I did not save her?''"

Phil Burbank (Cumberbatch) is a powerful rancher in Montana in 1925. One day, his world is turned upside down when his younger brother George (Plemons) marries Rose (Dunst), a widowed proprietress, and moves her and her son Peter (Smit-[=McPhee=]) onto the ranch. Phil initially tries to drive them away through mockery and intimidation, but eventually appears to take Peter under his wing with motivations that may be sinister but also hide untold secrets and the possibility of love.

''The Power of the Dog'' is a 2021 [[TheWestern Western]] directed by Creator/JaneCampion, based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Savage. It stars Creator/BenedictCumberbatch, Creator/JessePlemons, Creator/KirstenDunst, Kodi Smit-[=McPhee=], Creator/ThomasinMcKenzie, and Creator/KeithCarradine.

''The Power of the Dog'' is a 2021 [[TheWestern Western]] directed by Jane Campion, based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Savage. It stars Creator/BenedictCumberbatch, Creator/JessePlemons, Creator/KirstenDunst, Kodi Smit-[=McPhee=], Creator/ThomasinMcKenzie, and Creator/KeithCarradine.

* FemmeFatale: [[spoiler:Peter is a male example, an homme fatal (he seems to be about eighteen or nineteen, so a bit too old to be a FilleFatale); as, whether or not his feelings for Phil were genuine, he still takes advantage of Phil's feelings for him to draw him in, quasi-seduce him, and eventually murder him.]]

* {{Deconstruction}}: The film specifically focuses on the ValuesDissonance most [[Main/TheWestern Westerns]] usually ignore or downplay to emphasize how many people suffered under the time period's restrictive social moores. Such as [[InTouchWithHisFeminineSide Peter]] or [[spoiler: [[ArmouredClosetGay Phil]]]].

* {{Deconstruction}}: The film specifically focuses on the ValuesDissonance most [[Main/TheWestern Westerns]] usually ignore or downplay to just how many people suffered under the time period's restrictive social moores. Such as [[InTouchWithHisFeminineSide Peter]] or [[spoiler: [[ArmouredClosetGay Phil]]]].

* GreyAndGrayMorality: While Phil is psychologically cruel and unpleasant, he's never physically violent towards Rose or Peter and there's certainly no indication that he would ever kill anybody. In contrast, [[spoiler:although Peter is portrayed as gentle, kind, and initially at least a target of Phil's cruel mockery, he's willing to commit murder to achieve his own ends, and shows little remorse, guilt, or any kind of emotional conflict when doing so.]]

* {{Deconstruction}}: The film specifically focuses on the ValuesDissonance most [[Main/TheWestern Westerns]] usually ignore or downplay to just how many people suffered under the time period's restrictive social moores. Such as [[InTouchWithHisFeminineSide Peter]] or [[spoiler: [[ArmouredClosetGay Phil]].

* Deconstruction: The film specifically focuses on the ValuesDissonance most [[Main/TheWestern Westerns]] usually ignore or downplay to just how many people suffered under the time period's restrictive social moores. Such as [[InTouchWithHisFeminineSide Peter]] or [[spoiler:or [[ArmouredClosetGay Phil]].