Amadeus vs The Power of the Dog

Amadeus

Salieri and Mozart are built as doubles. Salieri has the piety and discipline Mozart lacks, and Mozart has the divine gift Salieri desperately wants. Each is the other's nightmare. In Mozart's music, Salieri hears the voice of God, which is also the voice that has rejected him. I feel like this mirroring is the whole psychology of the film.

The Power of the Dog

Phil and Peter are each other's shadow. Phil puts on an exaggerated toughness to hide his own nature. Peter hides his intelligence behind a fragile manner. Each sees something in the other that neither can name. I feel like the genius of the film is that you notice they are doubles before they do, and when they do recognize it, the consequences are catastrophic.

Amadeus

Every scene in Amadeus connects back to Salieri's envy. His schemes to destroy Mozart, his calculated sabotage and his prayers to a God he accuses of cruelty all come from 1 obsession. The film never softens or excuses that obsession. It only takes it apart piece by piece.

The Power of the Dog

Phil is obsessed with Bronco Henry, the mentor he idolizes and mourns. That obsession shapes every relationship in the film. His cruelty to Rose, his contempt for George and his eventual interest in Peter all come from a loss he can't deal with. Bronco Henry never appears on screen, yet you feel his presence more than any other character's.

Amadeus

Salieri narrates from an asylum, decades after the events. He lived through them twisted by an envy that had become a sickness. His Mozart is brash, vulgar and always laughing, which is possibly accurate and certainly exaggerated. You have to read between the lines of Salieri's bitterness to glimpse the real genius he couldn't bear.

The Power of the Dog

You see most of the film through Phil's mind. He is the most intelligent person in every room and the most fully drawn character. He is also the only person who doesn't understand what is happening to him. He is sure he has read Peter correctly, and that confidence is his fatal blind spot. The film sets you up to see exactly what Phil's intelligence misses.