The story explores how a man represses his sexuality by humiliating a young man he sees as too 'soft.' Occasional strong language includes 'f-got,' 's-t,' 'bitch,' 'sissy,' and more. A nonsexual scene of men bathing together has full nudity. A man seems to pleasure/caress himself with a bandana. In addition to suggestive scenes in a saloon/brothel, a married couple kiss, go to bed together, and have sex off camera (another character hears them). Many adults smoke and drink alcohol, more than one to excess and in secret (to the point of getting sick and passing out), but most during meals and when carousing in taverns. A death by suicide and its aftermath are discussed. Ranch animals are castrated, pushed, hunted, beaten, and put out of their misery (carcasses are shown), and a character dies (the dead body is visible in a couple of scenes).

The story includes violence against both humans and animals. Based on Thomas Savage's 1967 novel, the movie stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Jessie Plemons as Phil and George Burbank, as well as Kirsten Dunst and Kodi Smit-McPhee.

Parents need to know that The Power of the Dog is writer-director Jane Campion's Western drama set in the 1920s about two wealthy Montana brothers whose relationship is strained when the younger one unexpectedly marries a widow with a sensitive and intelligent teen son.

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