Jane Campion’s Power of the Dog is at once an expose’ of homophobia, an exploration of bulling mentality, the mutual love of the mother/son bond, familial influence and expectations, a deep examination of the concept of real strength and courage, and finally a re-thinking of male identity and the liberation of the soul.
Benedict Cumberbatch (Phil) gives a nuanced performance of the bulling and haunted older brother of George, portrayed with subtle stoicism by Jesse Plemons. Phil’s bulling is first projected onto George and subsequently to George’s bride the once widowed Rose and her son Peter, brilliantly portrayed by Kristen Dunst and Kodi Smit-McPhee. The story evolves through the relationship Phil develops with Peter, a sensitive and seemingly frail young man whom Phil attempts to mentor as he simultaneously torments Rose, a person he suspects has married George for financial gain. It is through this relationship that Phil’s underlying confused identity is revealed by reference to Phil’s connection to his former mentor and likely lover, the unseen Bronco Henry. As Phil’s torment of Rose continues, Peter is seen to take careful mental note of both Phil’s cruelty, his own developing sense of agency, and the mounting need to protect his vulnerable mother. As Phil is stricken with anthrax poisoning, we realize that Peter has prevailed in his defense of Rose and, in the final scene, gazes from his window in silent triumph.
Campion’s patient direction and carefully crafted script has rendered a fable for our times wherein the veneer of strength and its accompanying swagger is shown to be mere edifice masking an underlying mixture unfulfilled desire and unrealized identity. Exceptional performances by Cumberbatch, Dunst, Smit-McPhee, and the understated performance by Plemons combine to make this film a memorable cinematic experience. In the end, the erstwhile weakling stands tall in manful expression of loyalty and love while a mother is liberated from torment and revitalized in the process. In so doing, the soul is delivered from the confines of convention and the sword of misplaced identity. The Power of the Dog has restored the possibility of a reimagined mode of being and the freedom entailed therein.
