Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) Review!!

Synopsis – Members of the Osage tribe in the United States are murdered under mysterious circumstances in the 1920s, sparking a major F.B.I. investigation involving J. Edgar Hoover.

My Take – With a mighty impressive backlog to his name, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the latest from filmmaker Martin Scorsese, the most prominent of American auteurs and champion of film history, is another masterpiece, or at very least close to it.

Marking his tenth collaboration with Robert De Niro and sixth with Leonardo DiCaprio, the legendary filmmaker is still at the top of his game, even when he is telling what might be his bleakest and most emotionally distressing story yet.

Based on David Grann’s 2017 best-selling nonfiction book, Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the F.B.I., director Scorsese’s 206 minute adaptation, co-written with Oscar winning screenwriter Eric Roth (Forrest Gump, Dune), represents a fascinating look at 1920s Oklahoma at the moment when the often neglected Osage people, shuttled back and forth by the U.S. government, came to rest on land that gushes forth oil.

Sure, a film about a series of real-life killings committed by greedy people against indigenous people was never going to be easygoing, but it’s the execution here that counts. It’s constant dread and an exploration of twisted, manipulative, and often downplayed evil, disturbs and creeps up on you in ways that are difficult to anticipate or prepare oneself for.

And with its epic scale and plotting, the film rightfully earns its long runtime as there are so many different facets to explore with each of the characters, as their actions and the resulting consequences make for a compelling viewing experience.

Set in 1918, the story follows Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio), who upon return from his service in WWI, heads to work for his rancher uncle, William “King” Hale (Robert De Niro), who lives on the Oklahoma reservation belonging to the Native American Osage Nation. Years ago, wandering through the badlands of their reservation, several tribes men ended up finding oil gushing from the ground, turning the tribe into some of the richest people in the world.

Unfortunately for them, this sudden acquisition of wealth also attracted the attention of white businessmen looking to seize the opportunity at stealing as much from the Osage tribe as possible. And while Hale poses as a friendly benefactor of the Osage people, speaking their language and bestowing gifts upon them, secretly he schemes to steal their wealth.

To facilitate his plan, he instructs Ernest, who works as a cab driver, to marry a member of the Osage as a way of inheriting their fortune. Soon, Ernest falls in love with and later marries Mollie (Lily Gladstone), a young Osage woman who has strong ties to her family’s riches. As the white occupation of native land continues, members of the Osage tribe are repeatedly found murdered under mysterious circumstances, with some of Mollie’s close family being among the most prominent victims.

Much like most of director Scorsese‘s best known works, the film is framed as an epic, in-depth study of the dark side of human nature. Though deemed as filmmaker Scorsese‘s first Western, it carries all his traditional fixations: the rotted core of man’s heart, how power breeds the impulse for destruction, the myths of cowboys and outlaws and the dirty truth to them.

Here, we see how the Osage tribe, who live in harmony among themselves, are forcibly thrust into the sights of the outside world after oil is found on their land. In spite of the vast wealth they have all accumulated, the Osage are unable to hold back against the large tide of white people showing up and attempting to steal away everything that is rightly theirs. Because of this, the tribe’s happy existence has been compromised as they are subjected to frequent discrimination, first verbal and then physical. It is here we see the sinister plan of William King Hale come into play.

The scheme to slowly transfer the wealth of the oil-rich Osage over to the white men around them, via a combination of marriage and murder, is the plot that powers the film. With the slow creep of betrayal and casual murder being the core of the film, particularly the despicable scheme used by Hale in a heartless strategy to steal the wealth. The police-procedural aspects are exciting, and the imagery created by cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto is consistently breathtaking.

Ostensibly a whodunit, it departs from the conventions of that genre by making the “who” quite obvious even, eventually, to the Osage people being victimized. Hale, who mistakes power for wisdom, claims fate has determined that the Osage Nation’s time has come to an end. Nevertheless, the heart of the film is the unexpectedly sincere romance between Ernest and Mollie.

The pair grow closer with every year spent together, silently listening to the rain fall or having multiple children together, while the Reign of Terror continues on. Their relationship eventually devolves into a parasitic nightmare that neither of them can get out of. Which particularly demonstrated in a scene which sees silhouettes of men shimmer within the flames, as Mollie is wasting away in bed with sickness as half her family has also done mysteriously before her, with windows flickering with strange fire outside, all the while as a dead drunk Ernest watches on.

Without a doubt, the legendary filmmaker has managed to blend his style with a fresh point of view that never forgets who the victims are. In the end, offering a commentary on true crime and how the genre usually places entertainment above understanding.

Performances wise, Leonardo DiCaprio delivers yet another memorable turn. Displaying his signature range of emotion here, alternating between a strong family man and a submissive weakling doing his uncle’s bidding, both of which he pulls off quite effectively. Robert De Niro too eerily captures the sneaky and devastating evil of Hale. Bringing in his best performance in decades, the veteran performer is masterfully wicked.

Yet, the film belongs to Lily Gladstone, who is truly the heart and soul of the story. As a woman who has experienced so much pain and heartbreak in her life, whether it’s her own physical ailments or the sudden death of her relatives, Mollie remains as steadfast as ever and Gladstone makes her immensely likable.

In supporting roles, Jesse Plemons, Tantoo Cardinal, Scott Shepherd, Jillian Dion, Cara Jade Myers, JaNae Collins, Jason Isbell, William Belleau, Louis Cancelmi, Michael Abbott Jr, Louis Cancelmi, Pat Healy, Tatanka Means, John Lithgow and Brendan Fraser are terrific. On the whole, ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ is yet another well-crafted cinematic addition to a beloved filmmaker’s ever expanding library.