Martin Scorsese’s (Casino, The Wolf of Wall Street) Killers of the Flower Moon and Oppenheimer were my most anticipated movies of 2023. It had so much of what I look for in a movie. First and foremost, it had Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant, Revolutionary Road), my favorite actor. Secondly, it looked like a tension-driven drama with fiery characters enriched in their story and setting. Thirdly, it was based on a true story. When all things else are equal, I lean on based on actual story films as a deciding factor. Even with a ridiculous run time of 3 hours and 26 minutes, I was convinced that the gripping tale wouldn’t have me counting the minutes for the film to end, which I did on multiple occasions with Scorsese’s last film, the insufferable The Irishman. While Killers of the Flower Moon might struggle to finish in my end-of-year top ten list, it was a worthwhile theater-going experience. While it felt long at times, it certainly did not drag in the way that I feared it might. Scorsese dignifiedly shed light on an important story in our country’s history.
The film centers around the series of Osage Indian murders at the turn of the 20th century. Specifically, Scorsese’s story is in Fairfax, Oklahoma, at the tail end of World War I. The Osage Nation had found itself the inheritor of oil, instantly becoming the wealthiest group of people (per capita) in the United States. Like we’ve seen throughout history (and portrayed in many other films, such as Dances With Wolves, Wind River, Four Sheets to the Wind, and Forgotten Warriors) about the Native Americans being treated unjustly, Killers of the Flower Moon looks at how white people can get their hands on the riches afforded the Osage Nation.
Our main villain is William “King” Hale (Robert De Niro – Taxi Driver, Raging Bull), a conniving, opportunistic, affluent cattle baron with deep pockets within the political and law enforcement circles. Hale has a firm grip on the thriving city of Fairfax. Yet, the wealth he has is not enough. Instead, he uses his beguiling charm to work his way into favor with the Osage landowners and townspeople. He is a people user, looking to line himself with more money, influence, and power. He does so with a friendly smile and engaging personality that suggests he’s one of the good guys, only to stab those same people in the back when it’s convenient.
Arriving in Fairfax, Oklahoma, after his service in the War is his nephew Ernest (DiCaprio). Ernest’s brother Byron (Scott Shepherd) also lives around town. Naive and easy to manipulate, Hale views Ernest as a perfect chess piece, as it quickly becomes apparent that he is highly impressionable. Hale sees Ernest as another opportunity to fuel his greed. In speaking to Ernest, we learn about the lineage of wealth among the Osage.
At this time, we also learn of a string of investigated deaths surrounding members of the Osage. Some members are murdered, while others are said to die from “wasting disease,” which occurs from eating meat from infected animals or coming in contact with brain or body fluids from infected deer or elk. Regardless, the abnormal number of people in the Osage Nation are dying alarmingly.
Our hero in the story is Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone – The Unknown Country, First Cow), one of three Osage daughters to mother Lizzie Q (Tantoo Cardinal). Mollie and Ernest strike up a quick friendship that turns into a serious relationship after Hale employs Ernest as her driver. The pair quickly marry, much to Hale’s pleasure, as he calculates how he will soon be able to profit from her wealth. All the while, the mysterious deaths continue to pile up. The Osage Nation knows why this is happening (the whites are taking their lives) but feels helpless. That is until Mollie tries to take measures to have the deaths investigated outside of the crooked Fairfax law enforcement.
While DiCaprio and Gladstone are terrific, the supporting cast is less than stellar. DiCaprio’s portrayal of Ernest toes the line perfectly as someone whose initial naiveness has allowed him to become so brainwashed by his uncle that he no longer recognizes the difference between right and wrong, good and evil, or truth and lies. Gladstone’s depiction of Mollie is equally as convincing, serving perfectly as Ernest’s foil, as someone who knows the distinctions between these two opposing forces but is void of the resources and cannot change the injustices. Gladstone masterfully conveys strength and vulnerability at once. Her watchful eye sees everything. She often remains silent, even when she’s most keenly aware of the atrocities being committed before her, consuming her mind, body (she is a suffering diabetic), and spiritually. She serves as the film’s moral compass. Unfortunately, Gladstone’s version of Mollie is one of the only key takeaways in a film that is mostly void of any emotion or connection to its characters (often, but not always, a limitation of a Scorsese film).
De Niro was not the right choice for Hale. There comes a point in everyone’s career when it’s time to hang it up. Despite having more than 40 acting credits in feature-length films since 2001, just four have benefited from De Niro’s presence (The Intern in 2015, Silver Linings Playbook in 2015, Joker in 2019, The Irishman in 2019). The rest have either been terrible movies or would have been better with a different actor in that role. Post-2001, De Niro is far from his incredible filmography in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Even someone as accomplished as DiCaprio couldn’t carry De Niro’s inflated performance through their shared scenes. John Lithgow and Brendan Fraser were useless in their caricature performances. Each felt like they were there just for Scorsese to show off his ability to capture Hollywood A-listers for his films. Still in his infancy as the next great American actor, Jesse Plemons (Max’s Love & Death, AMC’s Breaking Bad) was poorly used—his portrayal as FBI Agent White felt flat and disinterested.
I do recommend Killers of the Flower Moon. It is a fascinating, true-to-tale story, done with careful research, care, and craftsmanship by one of the best directors in cinema history. It isn’t perfect. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel as emotionally invested in the story as I had hoped. While I did care about Mollie and, to a lesser extent, the troubled Ernest, I found the film to be more of an educational biopic than an epic drama. I wanted to care more. I wanted to leave the theater feeling a sense of exhaustion that Mollie elegantly portrayed in the film.
Plot 9/10
Character Development 8/10
Character Chemistry 8/10
Acting 8/10
Screenplay 7.5/10
Directing 7.5/10
Cinematography 9.5/10
Sound 8.5/10
Hook and Reel 7.5/10
Universal Relevance 10/10
84%
B
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