REVIEW: ‘Killers of a Flower Moon’ Shines

Before discovering the premise of the film, you already know you are in for a treat when you see Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Roberto Dinero attached together. Once that grabs your attention, you then realize that this movie is based on true events and a story that has been long overdue to be told in its rawest and purest form.

Scorsese teams up with Eric Roth to write Killers of the Flower Moon based on David Grann’s best-selling book of the same title. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, Tantoo Cardinal, Robert De Niro, Jesse Plemons, John Lithgow, Brendan Fraser, Cara Jade Myers, JaNae Collins, Jillian Dion, Tatanka Means, and William Belleau. Scorcese beautifully bares all, even when not pretty. To touch the events of the Osage murders from the 1920’s means one must rightfully do it justice, and that he did. His storytelling was unfiltered, further proving that he wasn’t concerned with possibly offending white males like himself.

At the center of this western dramatic crime is a subtle love story between Ernest (DiCaprio) and Mollie (Gladstone). Their chemistry is unique in the way that it isn’t so loud and obvious. Instead, the way they hold one another and gaze into each other’s eyes is enough to display the love between them. If you didn’t know the story prior to watching, you’d truly believe their story would go on to be one of those with a happy ending. The chemistry between the two has you internally rooting for them, even after you realize that Ernest is no good for Mollie. While standing beside big wigs like DiCaprio and Dinero, the real powerhouse of Killers of a Flower Moon is Gladstone. She delivers an Oscar-worthy performance by being able to evoke such pain and emotion so effortlessly. It never feels forced and she has a way of making you feel the hurt and frustration of the Osage people. While her family is picked off one by one, she stands strong in her mission to seek justice. It is then that we are introduced to the beginning days of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, spearheaded by Tom White ( Plemmons).

Another stellar performance worth noting is that of Mollie’s sister, Anna, played by Cara Jade Myers. She embodied the role of that younger sister that’s a reckless, carefree, drunk mess that you just know is gonna land herself in some trouble. She’s a tough badass that becomes an instant crowd favorite. She also has one of the most brutal deaths that was powerful enough to make viewers burn with anger.

Despite being a great story with intense visuals to match, there was a solid half an hour of film that could have been cut. The vivid details and accounts of what took place during the murders was indeed necessary. The nature of how graphic the acts of violence towards the Osage people needed to be on full display for the viewer to feel the very real emotions of this true story. With that being said, there were some scenes with dialogue that were not needed as they did little to contribute to the story at hand. When crafting a movie with what is already a long runtime, the director should consider not wanting to lose the audience’s focus. Some scenes may need to be sacrificed in order to get a more focused viewer. You don’t want people to leave the theater

saying, “Wow, that was too long.” and ultimately run with that narrative when telling their friends and family about the movie. All that hard work on such a beautiful story would go to waste if that’s all the average viewer took away. Lucky for Scorcese, this hopefully won’t be the case as his target audience is well aware of his longer runtimes. I purposely chose an afternoon showtime to avoid being tired and fidgety throughout the film. I’d also advise that folks use the bathroom before taking a seat for this three and a half hour long film, with previews lasting upwards of 20 minutes these days.

Overall, Scorsese has a solid gem on his hands due to his dedication to telling the whole truth and not sugarcoating reality. It isn’t every day a director tells the story of white men depicted in a negative light such as we see here. Killers of the Flower Moon perfectly show how they set out to take over the land where oil was discovered and manipulated and killed the Osage members that stood between them and a massive cash grab. Everything in between was well executed thanks to the performances of such an amazing cast.