Strap in, folks. It’s gonna be a long one and it’s gonna be a while before we even get to the meat and potatoes of the typical who, what, when, and why. There’s just too much movie and too many thoughts about “Killers of the Flower Moon” to deliver the quick summary, synopsis and cast list in paragraph 2. I apologize in advance for what may seem like a stream of consciousness, but my reaction and feelings are as sprawling and complex as the film and history itself. There’s no way to simple way to review it, and just as Martin Scorsese attempts to leave nothing out, this review of “Killers of the Flower Moon” is going to do the same.
We must understand that a film can be great and flawed, and even the greats aren’t above reproach. These things do not need to be mutually exclusive, and you can love and champion a masterful piece of cinema while also engaging with opposing critical perspectives and giving credence to those thoughtful critiques. This is important, because “Killers of the Flower Moon” is both a great film and deeply flawed one, and we’re going to be spending a lot of time unpacking both of these things. So yeah, buckle up. And maybe take a bathroom break before you dive into this review.
After what seems like an eternity of only having one single still as a sole promotional image for one of the most anticipated films of the year, “Killers of the Flower Moon” has finally hits theaters. The film was always going to be difficult to wrestle with. From its harrowing but long ignored historical events, necessity for authenticity and representation, and a sprawling conspiracy of corruption, these elements would be difficult for any director to truly capture even with a 3 and half hour run time. Scorsese largely succeeds in bringing his passion project to life in a complete way that feels rightly compassionate and empathic to the Osage people while simultaneously maintaining its crime drama undertones. Scorsese also injects his long thematic focuses of morality, greed, and the American nightmare. This rightly shines another bright light on another dark time in American history, and accurately gets across the systemic racism that has driven most of American history whether we want to admit or not.
This is a whole lot of movie. Not just for its long runtime (which breezes by faster than you’d expect even with its measured and restrained approach) but in the scale and scope of tragedy that Scorsese attempts to capture. It is truly astounding to watch a filmmaker 50 years into his career taking such huge risks and wanting to push the limits of his storytelling capabilities. On that front, “Killers of the Flower Moon” is a masterclass of production design, cinematography, and performance, helmed by one of the best to ever do it. In these respects the film succeeds and certainly earns its “masterpiece” moniker. It is a reminder that people just don’t bring cinema to life quite like the greats. There is so much to love, and no matter where you land on the film, it possesses an inescapable quality of longevity. It sticks with you long after the credits role, and breeds discussion and contemplation on its subject matter that frankly should not have been pushed so far to the fringes for so long. Grappling with American history as it is and not how we reimagine it is always challenging. This film is fearless in demanding audiences sit with the discomfort and reflection of our nation and the bodies we built it on.
There is so much to unpack- and we will get to the performances and emotional text that is present throughout the film soon. The best bring out the best in others. This film certainly has the ebb and flow of a great director getting the most out of every single performer. But before we get to that, we have to recognize the film’s very difficult challenges it doesn’t quite overcome. For starters, while many of the Osage people have praised “Flower Moon” for its representation of their people, many have been openly critical of its misguided perspective. Rightly so, because while you can feel Scorsese’s passion for wanting to bring this story to light, moreso than any of his other previous films he seems less confident and assured with his own vision. There is a tightrope of wanting to do right by the people he should while also making a signature crime story. These two ideologies clash continuously, and feels as if Scorsese is desperately trying to inject himself into the story instead of allowing the source material to present itself to him. There is a distance between him and his story, something I don’t think I’ve ever felt in a Scorsese film.
He seems to be working from the outside and figuring out where he fits in real time as the film unfolds, rather than letting the material itself provide its own openings. It becomes two conflicting stories in the same film; one is the rightful attempt to accurately capture the atrocity that greed and corruption wrought on The Osage, and the other is the need to make a crime film without them. This is where perspective holds the film back from being truly great. See, “Flower Moon” is largely told from the perspective of Ernest Burkhart and William Hale (Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro) the two primary conspirators systematically attempting to eradicate Osage people for their headrights and oil money. Which, in any other film for Scorsese would be perfectly aligned with his normal filmography. A vast majority of his main characters are rarely people we should admire and are more often than not cautionary tales of who we become in the face of power and greed. But because the film and story SHOULD be about the Osage people, it forcibly feels at odds with itself, placing the worst of the worst front and center while constantly trying to authentically capture the emotional terror of their victims.
While Mollie Burkhart (Lily Gladstone) is the heart and soul of the film and looms over everything even when she’s not onscreen, she is still pushed the fringes of her own story in lieu of putting the shining start of Leo front and center. Of course Ernest is a vital part of the story, and his part in the tragedy is a genuine catalyst and cowardly enabler of just about everything that transpired during the Reign of Terror. And Hale, the two faced sociopath who put the whole plan in motion all while pretending to be an Osage savior is of course essential to the narrative. You can’t tell the story of “Killers of the Flower Moon” without them, but you also can’t truly do right by the Osage if the film is PRIMARILY about them. There is almost an attempt at redemption for Ernest, who despite being the definitive ender of events by testifying against his uncle in court, doesn’t deserve any kind of it at all. There is great conflict within Scorsese because of this, and the two pronged film never quite settles properly on any one perspective that feels right, constantly shifting between the two ideologies he’s trying merge.
Now, I say all of this to say that while it is at odds with itself, this is still an incredible and important film to watch. And Scorsese still brings an incredible eye for filmmaking to life. He has said that the film is not a whodunnit but more of a who HASN’T done it, and here he does an immpeccable job in presenting this. This film is is cold, calculating, and nearly ambivalent to violence and revolting acts that everyone we meet that isn’t Osage commits with ease. He smartly de-glamorizes the violence, and while some would argue that this is a detriment and diminishes the drama, it actually highlights the callousness with which these atrocities occurred. There is a palpable atmosphere that killing Osage is not a crime, it’s just something you do and should feel completely justified doing. It is unsettling and uncomfortable and uneasy, which is exactly how you SHOULD feel watching “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Scorsese hangs a dark cloud just beneath his illuminating light over the whole story, one of the stronger elements that you can tell feels far more confident and assured than some of the other ideas we discussed previously.
Ok, NOW we can talk about the cast and synopsis, because the performances are another thing “Killers of the Flower Moon” nails. Based on the non-fiction novel of the same name by David Grann, the film is directed by Martin Scorsese from a script by himself and academy award winning screenwriter Eric Roth (“Forest Gump,” “Munich,” “Dune“). At the turn of the 20th century, the Osage people discover oil under their newly appointed land, instantly making them some of the richest people in the world overnight. Thriving with riches, this newfound wealth of course attracts the greedy and malicious who believe all of that money should go to white people, not Osage. In the 1920s, a conspiracy now known as The Reign Terror sought to murder countless Osage people for their money, even marrying their sons to Osage women to have control over their estates. Though everyone played a part in these horrible events, William Hale lead the plot, using his friends and deep pocket connections as well as his two nephews (including Ernest) to gain more and more wealth by murdering Osage. Mollie Burkhart married Ernest, and as her entire family is systematically killed one by one, she starts to suspect that the people closest to her may be the cause of her loss. With the bodies piling up, the young unknown FBI shows up to uncover the foul plot and bring the men responsible to justice.
Even the synopsis barely scratches the surface of what actually happened and just how deep the corruptions and conspiracy went. Scorsese certainly tries to include as much of it as he can, which leads to the very long runtime but also attempts to paint a harrowing picture of what the Osage had to endure. DiCaprio and De Niro are truly great, with De Niro turning in one of his best performances in probably decades. DiCaprio may be doing some things we’ve seen him do before, but we rarely see him so sinister, conflicted and cowardly. He genuinely tries to shed his leading man charm, and does so with a lot of success. Plemons is a breath of fresh air as the middle hour of “Flower Moon” begins to drag until he shows up at the doorstep of Ernest. We don’t actually spend a lot of time with Plemons and his young FBI team, and much of their actual role in uncovering the truth is glossed over for the sake of time and shifting focus to Mollie as she tries to survive in the face of insurmmountable odds. The book obviously goes into far more detail about the nuances and methods (and many, many, MANY failures) of the investigation, but what we get here and when we get it revitalizes the film as it heads towards its conclusion.
And lastly, there’s Lily Gladstone as Mollie Burkhart. I said this before but it bares repeating: she is the heart and soul of “Killers of the Flower Moon,” and emotional depth she is able to convey with very little dialogue is indescribable. Her performance is so powerful and captivating she steals every scene she is in and even overshadows DiCaprio who is also firing on all cylinders. That should be a strong testament to how good Gladstone is; Leo is doing what he does best as absolute best he can and she quietly hijacks every single moment with her presence. This film would not be what it is without her, and Roth and Scorsese going back and rewriting the script to include her more is a genuine savior of the film. There isn’t enough of her if we’re being honest. Not just screen time (because you can certainly have a presence without being constantly seen) but perspective. “Flower Moon” should be an Osage story told from the perspective of its central thematic Osage in Mollie, and while it would probably take an Osage at the helm to do that properly, choosing to anchor everything to Ernest instead of Mollie is a hinderance. Not just because that’s really the story that should be told, but also because Gladstone is just so damn good she deserves to command the narrative as much and as often as she commands the screen.
We haven’t even talked about the film’s ending, a wild, bold swing for the fences that will certainly be a hotly debated topic of whether it works or not. When I left the theaters, I absolutely hated its ending. However, after sitting with my thoughts on it for a bit, I’ve come around to praise it. “Killers of the Flower Moon” maintains is complexity and unanswerable questions all the way to its fade to black, ensuring that you don’t leave feeling victorious or that anything was actually solved because it wasn’t. Even though the story itself concludes, Scorsese refuses to allow you to feel easy or settled. You are uncomfortable to the very end, and that is perhaps the best intentionality he conveys.
This is probably not going to be for everyone. And you should absolutely listen to the Osage commentary and critiques of the work. This is their story with only some of their voice included, and you can most certainly still enjoy the film while recognizing its flawed perspective. The story is vast and sprawling and difficult, and there are bound to be a multitude of interpretations that deserve to be discussed. Of course, there will be plenty of grifters and really bad takes that miss the mark completely, so we don’t need to engage with ALL of the opinions out there.
Is “Killers of the Flower Moon” a good film? Yes, I would even argue it’s a great one. But it is also a controversial film dealing with very difficult subject matter, and it is important that we take some time to thoughtfully discuss and process all that the film is trying to offer, either to success or not.
Scorsese remains one of the greatest living directors of our time, and this film is an example of just how good he can be even when the subject matter requires further analysis and engagement.
Congratulations! You made it! Thank you for coming to my TedTalk.
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
“Killers of the Flower Moon” is now playing in theaters. You can watch the trailer below.
