The Power Of The Dog Shot A More Obvious Ending

Warning: This post contains spoilers for the Power of the Dog ending.

Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog ends on an ominous note, but it nearly had a much more obvious ending. Netflix is once more courting Oscars gold with its original movies, and it’s The Power of the Dog that stands the best chance of bringing home some major awards for the streamer. The Western is an adaptation of Thomas Savage’s 1967 novel and centers on brutal rancher Phil Burbank (Benedict Cumberbatch). Prone to terrorizing everyone around him, Phil sets his eyes on the fragile Rose (Kirsten Dunst) when she marries his brother George (Jesse Plemons). However, it’s Rose’s gentle son Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee) who soon captures Phil’s attention in more ways than one.

Upon its premiere at the Venice Film Festival last year, The Power of the Dog swiftly became one of the best-reviewed movies of 2021. Campion cemented herself as a best director frontrunner, and the entire ensemble stirred up buzz themselves. In addition to its performances and technical aspects, The Power of the Dog has received praise of its gripping story and shocking ending, which sees Phil die suddenly from anthrax poisoning. Campion keeps the circumstances of his death somewhat vague, only hinting that it’s innocent Peter who is behind it.

However, that wasn’t always the case, as editor Peter Sciberras revealed to The Wrap. Sciberras revealed how Campion actually shot an additional moment for the Power of the Dog ending, which would’ve made it abundantly clear that Peter was in fact the one who killed Phil. In the final cut, the last shot is of Peter watching Rose and George embrace from afar. The unused shot, according to Sciberras, went like this:

“It was a slow pan across Peter’s desk in his room, which showed a medical book on his desk. And then the camera landed on the definition of anthrax in the book. And that was the last shot of the film.”

As Sciberras then pointed out, that’s how the book actually ends. However, it’s probably safe to say that the subtler approach is better for The Power of the Dog. It gives Peter a more menacing edge as viewers question whether he is truly capable of murdering someone to protect his mother. Though there is little question that Peter is the one who did it, that doesn’t lessen the intrigue that comes from not outright confirming it. This way, The Power of the Dog ends on an unsettling note that’s rather fitting considering its lead.

Currently, The Power of the Dog is up for an amazing 12 Oscar nominations, and it could end up winning a good number of them. Campion is the favorite in the directing category, and Cumberbatch stands a solid chance of winning best actor. The Power of the Dog itself is also a leading contender for best picture. While the more obvious ending likely wouldn’t have tarnished its chances much, it’s better for its prospects that Campion went for the more daring conclusion. It sticks with audiences, and perhaps it stuck with Academy voters too.

Source: The Wrap

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Rachel Labonte
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Rachel LaBonte is a news, feature, and movie review writer for Screen Rant with a deep passion for film and television. A graduate of Emerson College, she majored in Media Arts Production while specializing in screenwriting. She’s been a writer ever since high school when she realized she was rather good at it and joined as many entertainment news clubs as she could while in school. Most notably, she wrote for Emerson’s website Emertainment Monthly, and one of her film reviews won an Evvy (Emerson’s student awards) for Best Review. Her deep love of movies led to her working at a movie theater for five years, which she loved despite the angry customers. An avid reader who constantly buys books before reading the ones she already owns, Rachel is a huge fan of superheroes (especially of the Marvel variety) and wizards and will likely never be able to catch up on all the movies/TV shows she longs to watch.

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