Is Phil Gay In Power Of The Dog?
The Power of the Dog is a slow-burning story about the secrets a family can hide from each other, and one of the most closely guarded secrets in the movie is the sexuality of Benedict Cumberbatch’s character, Phil. The Oscar-winning Netflix western moves at a carefully plotted pace without holding the hands of its viewers, and leaves some aspects of the film open to interpretation. The actors also give very complex performances—particularly Cumberbatch as Phil and Kodi Smit-McPhee as Peter—that may leave some confused as to the true nature of the characters' motivations.
Taking place in 1925, The Power of the Dog tells the story of the Burbank brothers, who own a ranch in Montana. When Phil’s brother George (Jesse Plemons) meets and marries the widowed owner of an inn (Plemons’ real life wife, Kirsten Dunst), the ultra-masculine Phil doesn’t take well to his sister-in-law or her delicate son from a previous marriage, Peter. But Phil changes his colors after awhile and begins to teach Peter how to live a rougher life on the ranch, taking the seemingly gentle young man under his wing.
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The Power of the Dog never uses explicit sexual terminology in regards to its characters, leaving viewers to interpret the subtle queues of the actors for themselves. Although the movie may require multiple viewings to unpack its layers, Oscar-nominated director Jane Campion left several clues behind to indicate that Phil’s outer masculinity covers up a secret. A key scene, some careful dialogue, and Phil’s sudden desire to strike up a friendship with Peter show that Cumberbatch’s character is gay.
Early on in The Power of the Dog, Phil talks with great admiration about a
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