“Killers of the Flower Moon” Review

In “Killers of the Flower Moon”, a wealthy Osage woman named Mollie (Lily Gladstone) finds herself and her family the target of an insidious plot to murder Osage landowners. What Mollie is unaware of is that her husband Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) is one of the plot’s conspirators.

Certain directors are often associated with certain kinds of films. If you see Quentin Tarantino’s work, you mainly associate him with thrilling violence and historical revisionism. When you think of Jordan Peele, he often tells thrilling stories of suspense and horror with a social message in the film’s subtext. As for Spielberg, you expect many of his films to be about hope and optimism breaking through incredibly harsh realities and cynicism. Martin Scorsese is no different because, despite his diverse filmography, the man is best known for his films about crime including “Mean Streets”, “Goodfellas” and “The Wolf of Wall Street”. 

Now, Scorsese has once again made a film in the subgenre that put him on the map with “Killers of the Flower Moon” and, what a shocker, it’s a masterpiece of cinematic achievement. However, not only will the film be universally loved, it also manages to stand apart from Scorsese’s previous work by bringing us back 100 years and telling a shocking true story that most people have never heard of surrounding an overlooked culture. Watching this film was one of the most exciting experiences I had at the cinema all year and I feel so privileged to have been told this deeply personal yet epic tale. 

In the 1920s, the Osage Nation were the richest race of people per capita in the world due to the oil that was discovered on their land. With one of the most valuable substances in the world in their reservation, the Osage were able to dictate who could drill for oil, making many members of the tribe millionaires. However, many members of the tribe start to show up dead under suspicious circumstances. As the bodies pile up and the investigations begin by a newly created FBI, it’s revealed that a massive conspiracy has been created to systematically kill off Osage people so that white men can inherit their land, their oil and their fortunes. 

While this story alone is fascinating, what makes “Killers of the Flower Moon” so engaging isn’t what’s being depicted, it’s the point of view that the film is told. Early drafts and ideas of the film originally intended Leonardo DiCaprio to lead the film as Tom White (played by Jesse Plemons in the film), the former Texas Ranger turned FBI agent who investigates the murders. However, screenwriters Martin Scorsese and Eric Roth chose to tell the story from a different perspective and that was for the best. Instead of an investigation thriller, Scorsese’s film goes so much deeper with three incredibly complex characters played by a triad of talented actors.

In the film, Leonardo DiCaprio portrays Ernest Burkhart, a veteran of the First World War who returns to Oklahoma to work for his uncle William King Hale (Robert De Niro) who parades himself as the biggest ally to the Osage people. But it’s clear that Hale is far more nefarious than he lets on and he begins to manipulate his nephew into doing his bidding to get the head rights of some valuable Osage land. As Hale, De Niro is terrifying because you know how much power he has but he never flaunts it. He talks very kindly and always uses euphemistic language to describe the terrible things he and his conspirators are going to do. In fact, the first time we see him, he’s having a nice, pleasant conversation with Ernest that seems innocent until it dawns on you that they’re talking about murder. 

With powerhouses Robert De Niro (Left) and Leonardo DiCaprio in a Scorsese film for the first time together, “Killers of the Flower Moon” is an acting spectacle with both men playing some of their most complex characters ever.

DiCaprio delivers one of his best performances ever as Ernest and, unlike most of DiCaprio’s roles, this character is not a smart man. He’s able to be manipulated by many, especially his uncle, and is driven by his lust for money. However, it’s the relationship with his Osage wife and wealthy landowner Molly (Lily Gladstone) that triggers the complexities of his character. Throughout the film, Ernest is torn between the love he may have for his family and the love he has for power and status with the film smartly not telling us which side is dominant. You don’t know whether to hate this character or pity him and DiCaprio expertly walks that tightrope. Furthermore, it’s an absolute pleasure to see DiCaprio and De Niro (two of Martin Scorsese’s most frequent collaborators) on screen together under the direction of one the greatest filmmakers of all time. 
While De Niro and DiCaprio deserve much praise for their incredible performances, it’s Lily Gladstone that not only provides the film’s emotional core but the best character in this story about wicked men. As Molly, Gladstone brings this triumphant grace and vulnerability as she watches her family be one of the primary targets of this string of murders. Watching this proud woman constantly be torn down and rebuilt by each new death and act of destruction is the kind of performance that makes me excited. Very few actors can dominate in a scene that features Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio. Gladstone is one of them. 

Of course, when you see a Martin Scorsese picture, you know you’re going to get something that will be impressive whether it’s in the storytelling, innovative filmmaking, characterization or a combination of the three. “Killers of the Flower Moon” continues to cement this man as one of the most consistently talented filmmakers of the past 50 years ever since “Mean Streets” became a cultural sensation. Even when Scorsese has had his critical and commercial failures, like “New York, New York” or “The King of Comedy”, he has found a way to bounce back quickly and even those films that were considered “flops” have found new life in recent years. However, I think his work on “Killers of the Flower Moon” will rightfully be acknowledged initially. 

The film is epic in every way possible with such a vivid environment that Scorsese and his team have immersed us in. Filmed in Oklahoma on the Osage lands that were the sight of these horrific crimes, the modern landscape has been transformed and has all the grand scale of the practical, dirty, big-budget westerns of the 70s like “McCabe & Mrs. Miller” and “Heaven’s Gate”. While Scorsese is ItalianAmerican and white, he has accurately and intently portrayed other cultures in the most respectful way in films like “Kundun” and “Silence” so there was never any doubt in my mind that his representation of the Osage people would fall short. But even I couldn’t predict just how much of the culture has been presented to the audience in such a compelling manner, I just had to experience it. From having Osage work in front of and behind the camera to having most of the main actors learn the Osage language, it’s clear that Scorsese went above and beyond to give these people their due. 

Martin Scorsese’s strong direction, attention to detail and willingness to learn from the Osage people (who served as advisors on the film) demonstrates his dedication to film, resulting in one of his best films.

Along with reusing a few of his most prized actors, Scorsese has reunited with his family of filmmakers to craft this marvelous work. Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, who’s already made waves this year by serving as the director of photography for “Barbie”, has captured some of the best looking shots I’ve seen in quite a while including sweeping landscape shots that showcase the stunning beauty of the Osage hills, intimate closeups that enhance the performances and real innovation with the elements. The best example comes at a point where a patch of land is on fire and, as your watching men put out the fire, you see these shadowy figures backlit by the flames only something feels different. Everything looks hazy. Then you realize that you’re not just seeing these shadowy figures, you’re looking at them through the steam that is coming from fires that are below the camera. It’s so beautiful and yet so haunting.

One of the biggest complaints from people who haven’t even seen the film yet is that, like “The Irishman”, “Killers of the Flower Moon” is incredibly long. While it’s true that the film clocks in at three hours and 26 minutes, those critics of the film’s length clearly don’t know what editor Thelma Schoonmaker is capable of. Much like “Oppenheimer”, the editing of this film makes a whole hour somehow disappear. While the film does move slowly, it’s never boring. There’s always something interesting happening whether it’s a scene of character development or an instance of horrific violence. The best way to describe the way this film is paced is to imagine a long fuse interconnecting a series of powderkegs. Every once in a while, one of the powder kegs explodes and gives you a massive jolt but you’re also in a state of suspense the entire time because you know that the fuse is always lit. For me, this three-and-a-half hour film was far more riveting than some of the 90 minute stinkers I saw this year where every minute felt like a torturous eternity. 

I would also be remiss if I did not say something about the film’s score composed by the late Robbie Robertson. A frequent collaborator of Scorsese’s, the two first met in 1976 when crafting the concert film “The Last Waltz” which depicted the final concert of The Band (a group which Robertson was the guitarist and chief songwriter for). Since that film, they regularly worked together in the ensuing decades with Robertson composing music or compiling soundtracks for several of Scorsese’s films including “Raging Bull”, “The King of Comedy”, “The Wolf of Wall Street” and “The Irishman” However, most of Robbie’s contributions were shared with previously existing material since Scorsese, most of the time, has relied on compilations of music instead of a traditional score. 

For this film, Robertson was able to write a full score and doing so must have been very fulfilling and personal since Robertson is half First Nations (his mother Dolly was Cayuga and Mohawk and was born on the Six Nations Indian Reserve in Ontario). By combining blues sounds of the 20s, contemporary rock and traditional Native American music, Robertson has crafted one of his finest pieces of music which makes his death at the age of 80 this past August all the more saddening. When I saw that Scorsese dedicated the film to Robertson in the credits, I began to cry. 

It’s obvious that so much of American history, mainly stories centered around marginalized groups, has been obscured. After all, isn’t history written by the winners? This is what makes a film like “Killers of the Flower Moon” so shocking, so terrifying and so necessary. The fact that this part of history lay dormant for most people until its depiction in David Grann’s book “Killers of the Flower Moon” (which the film is based upon) is telling of how many of these stories get swept under the rug. It draws a startling comparison to the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, an event of carnage, which saw white people coordinate an attack to murder people of color, that was forgotten by the vast majority of Americans until its depiction in the 2019 HBO miniseries “Watchmen”. In fact, since the film takes place in the same state and during the same time as the Tulsa attack, some of the film’s characters rightfully compare the Osage murders to that day of destruction. What Scorsese has accomplished with this film is ensure that we will not forget the atrocities committed against the Osage.

While it’s hard to even think of a time when Scorsese wasn't well-regarded in both American and world cinema, the past few years have seen this icon really take a good look at how time breaks down the insidious and how our deeds always have consequences. It is through this mindset that he has crafted some of the most daring films to get a wide release. What a film like “Killers of the Flower Moon” offers is the chance to experience the kind of cinematic event that some have wrongfully thought passed us by. For those that think that epic adult drama films like “The Ten Commandments”, “Lawrence of Arabia”, “Doctor Zhivago” and “The Godfather” couldn’t exist in this age of bitesize entertainment, this film is the perfect depiction of this kind of cinema in a modern landscape. After decades of moviemaking and being responsible for 26 feature films, it’s clear that not only does Scorsese still have it but that he shows no signs of slowing down.