Killers Of The Flower Moon Review

Plot: When oil is discovered in 1920s Oklahoma under Osage Nation land, the Osage people are murdered one by one - until the FBI steps in to unravel the mystery.

Film: Killers Of The Flower Moon

Director: Martin Scorsese

Writer: Eric Roth, Martin Scorsese, David Grann

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone

This is the film in the Best Picture showcase that I’ve been dreading the most, I’ll be honest in that Scorsese isn’t a director that I get on particularly well with, the type of picture he creates are a behemoth of an experience that I just can’t mentally keep up with. Killers Of The Flower Moon was no different, this was a 3 and a half hour epic that felt like ten episodes of a TV show that I wasn’t engaged with but had to keep watching anyway. 

There’s no doubting the talent this film contains, Lily Gladstone is an absolute marvel to behold and delivers the most moving performances at various stages of the film, grief following her like a shadow the entire runtime. For a film about the Osage People, Killers Of The Flower Moon does little to explore their way of life outside of their deaths. With such a lengthy runtime there is no excuse for me feeling like I don’t know much about the tribe but having spent half the film staring at Leonardo DiCaprio’s frown. I had been initially shocked at his lack of a best actor nomination but after watching the film, my shock quickly dissipated. 

Robert De Niro plays an interesting role as Leo’s uncle, Bill ‘King’ Hale, who guides his nephew, Ernest, into a dishonest life of thievery and murder with the assumption that they will rule the ‘kingdom’ together. As the plot thickens with layers of conspiracy and betrayal, the film’s emotional core remains anchored in the tender yet turbulent romance between Ernest and Mollie. Despite the grandeur of the criminal enterprise depicted on screen, it is the intimacy of their relationship that resonates most deeply. Gladstone’s enigmatic performance lends a haunting quality to Mollie’s character, even as she grapples with illness and adversity.

Scorsese deftly shifts focus towards a poignant epilogue, underscoring the enduring impact of America’s native legacy. It’s an important story and rooted in a lot of truth, but I can’t help but feel there was a better way to tell this story that focussed less on the white men causing problems and more on the tribes enduring them.