(Peter knows but he’s definitely not telling.) Yet the ambiguity of the ending also echoes the unspoken nature of the deep emotion at the movie’s heart.

On a storytelling level, the enigmatic ending is partly a matter of point of view: like Phil, we aren’t aware that all this is happening. He’s awkward but fiercely protective of his mother, and he focuses his watchful intelligence on somehow bringing Phil to justice. Rose numbs herself with alcohol, but Peter proves to be a dark horse. Larger than life and ornery as hell, Phil immediately starts tormenting both mother and son. The movie’s subtle conclusion has a “big reveal” that takes a moment to comprehend - probably not the grand gesture you might expect from the story’s battle of wills.Īdapted from Thomas Savage’s 1967 novel, the movie begins with two rancher brothers, Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch) and George (Jesse Plemons), and follows what happens when George’s new wife, Rose (Kirsten Dunst), and her son, Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee), move in with them. But the ending of Campion’s simmering Western drama has been anything but loud or clear. The acclaim for Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog” has been loud and clear, from its Venice premiere to its release in theaters and on Netflix. This article contains spoilers for the Netflix feature “The Power of the Dog.”

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