Phil frequently sang Bronco Henry’s praises, as if a boy or a girl were flaunting their romantic partners. He was romantically involved with his mentor, Bronco Henry. Well, Phill didn’t bathe or dress up well because he didn’t have a lover to impress or anyone else for that matter.
He underlined that Phil had never tried the house bathroom since the brothers moved into the ranch. The film began with George making a notable remark about Phil’s personality. A bully who was jealous, possessive, flamboyant, and toxic. Have you ever met a man who was once in love, then lost a lover or got his heartbroken, and then turned into a spiteful creature? Well, Phil Burbank was that man. However, for Rose, she couldn’t leave the ranch and had to face the “bad dog” each and every day. For this reason, George was absent for a major chunk of the film. To avoid Phil, George handled the paperwork for the ranch and stayed out of the house as much as possible. Rose Gordon, a widow whom George married, was also shaken by Phil’s tyranny. In simple terms, George wasn’t brave enough to face the wrath of Phil and hence always approached him with cautiousness. Not that being a soft-spoken person is a flaw, but it was a trait that differentiated him from Phil. Like all civilized men, George wasn’t wild or loud enough. He knew that he couldn’t make Phil understand the delicate mannerisms and thus distanced himself from the hound as much as he could. Every time Phil intentionally hurt people’s feelings, George tried to make up for his brother’s rude behavior. In George’s case, his brother Phil contaminated the ranch with his harsh tone, sexist comments, and glorified masculinity. George used soap, dressed well before leaving the house and greeted people with courtesy. He bathed regularly in a bathtub, unlike the cowboys who jumped into the river. Though George never got a college degree, he never gave up on his pursuit of becoming a gentleman. But he didn’t pass through college and ended up on a ranch that he and his brother, Phil, inherited from their old man and the old lady. George Burbank wanted to study and become a civil servant, like a doctor or an engineer, maybe. Major Spoilers Ahead The Good – George Burbank Let’s dig deeper into the skins of these notable characters of the film whose choices and actions shape the course of action. For Phil, the Power of the Dog is a tale of filling the heart void of love for George, it is about finding a balance in a savage Cowboy colony, while for Peter, it is a tale of revenge and saving her mother from the attacks of a toxic man. The most beautiful aspect of the narrative is that if you follow the story from the viewpoint of any one of these characters, you’ll get an entirely different understanding of the narrative.