MovieChat Forums > The Power of the Dog (2021) Discussion > Twist Ending (spoilers obvs)

Twist Ending (spoilers obvs)

posted 3 years ago by cyberbob (3488)
12 replies | jump to latest

I really liked the movie. I thought the ending was pretty fucked up. In case any of you dummies (of which I see many on this movie's page, like "Cyguration") missed it, the kid murdered Benedict Cumberbatch intentionally

Him using gloves to handle the rope shows us that he is aware that it contains Anthrax spores. The line from the kid where he says "my dad thought I wasn't kind enough, that I was too strong" was foreshadowing

Benedict Cumberbatch's presence was causing his mother to become a deranged alcoholic. Things were only gonna get worse after she gave away the hides

The kid took matters into his own hands and gave Cumberbatch the tainted hides knowing that he'd be poisoned

I felt bad for Cumberbatch because by the end of the movie his character came across as the most intelligent and sensible one. But at least it was unexpected, so I give the movie a thumbs up

[–] corey (774) 3 years ago

I agree, I had forgotten about the kid cutting away the hide strips from the diseased cow he found. He was skilled in dissection and stuff like that and intended to be a surgeon.

[–] cyberbob (3488) 3 years ago

Yeah, the kid had a ton of medical books, he was definitely aware of what Anthrax was and how it's transmitted

People seem to think that the story is about gay cowboys or about abusive Benedict Cumberbatch

The gay aspect plays a part, but that's not the main point. The point is that you have these two characters who both share a common secret (with the kid it's less of a secret because he's effeminate), one appears outwardly weak and the other outwardly strong

But as you learn more about them, you see that it's the reverse. Cumberbatch, as much of a tough guy as he is, is still deeply in love with the deceased "Bronco Henry". And he gets upset about the hides in part because he's particular about them, but he NEEDED those because he really wanted to finish making the rope for his new friend (the kid)

The kid, on the other hand, who everyone views as weak, is fairly cold-blooded

[–] corey (774) 3 years ago

Yeah when the movie started I expected the usual conflict between two closeted gays resulting in a violent attack by Phil on the "vulnerable" boy, with tragic results. Boy was I surprised, and pleasantly so. I expect to watch it again this weekend, paying more attention to earlier interactions and trying to figure out the bible passage Pete reads at the end.

[–] Information-Police (4896) 3 years ago

What's really interesting is that the angry Phil is changing fir the better and he is cold-bloddedly murdered by the seemingly weak young guy. We (and Phil( should have known by the way he snapped the neck of that rabblt!

[–] HarlemEagle42 (18433) 3 years ago

That last bit saved the movie for me. For much of it, even when the reveal about Phil happens, I'm like "ok this is well acted but not much happening".

[–] cyberbob (3488) 3 years ago

Agreed. Without that ending it would have just been another generic Oscar-baity Drama

But the ending retroactively made other parts of the movie better because I was able to go back and see how they had been setting up that twist bit by bit

There's a lot of little details that you can look at. Like when Phil first meets Peter and bullies him by burning his paper flower, Peter goes to the back of the kitchen upset. But then you see him playing with a hula hoop with angry/intense look on his face, but he's not crying. Instead it's his mom that's crying over the incident

We just take for granted that Peter is weak because he's an effeminate stick, and the movie allows you to make that assumption while still setting up the twist entire time

[–] WhereIsRent (1092) 3 years ago

I agree, I thought the movie was fantastic, one of the best of the year.

Just when I thought there was nothing new to bring to the western genre this movie proved me wrong. Very original and unpredictable.

[–] cyberbob (3488) 3 years ago

That's a good way to put it. Lots of great Westerns, but they're almost always some variation of the law vs. outlaws

Very rare to see a "Psychological Drama" that's a Western

[–] WhereIsRent (1092) 3 years ago

Yeah definitely, it was so surprising for me because all I knew before watching was that this was a Western starring Benedict Cumberbatch and it had been nominated for some awards.

I certainly wasn’t expecting this, so different and unique, I think I’ll check out Jane Campion’s other films now.

[–] acidraindrop (3055) 3 years ago

I had no interest in this movie, but this post does intrigue me a bit.

[–] cyberbob (3488) 3 years ago

If you like Dramas I think it's worth giving it a chance. I'm usually not a big fan of awards-season movies. I do vetting of what they're about so I won't have to sit through some slog that no one will remember by the next year

But this one was genuinely good. I think I'll re-watch it at some point

[–] [email protected] (1367) 3 years ago

The comments here are better than the movie itself