The Power of the Dog: Art Making A Point

Power of the Dog

This is a powerful movie. How one reacts to this power depends on where they are coming from and their own experiences with evil people. My wife and I started watching it and we turned it off about 15 minutes in. The blatant anger and seething hate in Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch) was so obvious and too much for us.

I went back the next day and watched the rest. There were a number of moments where I literally shouted at the tv: “Oh, come on, now.” These were where I felt the point was made, then over-made in such a blatant way, as to be almost offensive to the sensibilities. I’m glad I stayed through the ending, which was redemptive. The movie is powerful in that it stays with you, but in my opinion, it is not the great enigma critics are making it out to be. A NYT critic actually called the ending that. As if there was a question about what happened? It couldn’t have been any clearer without getting beat over the head.

The thing is, my wife and I have experienced an evil person. A malignant narcissist. Once you rip away the human veil and see the snake, you become adept at seeing that kind of person. There was no doubt for us who Phil was from the start and he proceeded at every turn to confirm not only his evil, but his brokenness. We get to learn some of what broke him, including his mentor, Bronco Henry. We learn how he’s built his own prison. It’s nature and nurture that…