Killers of the Flower Moon
“Killers of the Flower Moon” is a 2023 American epic western crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and based on the 2017 non-fiction book of the same name by David Grann1. The movie stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, Tantoo Cardinal, Cara Jade Myers, JaNae Collins, and Jillian Dion2. The film is set in 1920s Oklahoma and depicts the serial murder of members of the oil-wealthy Osage Nation, a string of brutal crimes that came to be known as the Reign of Terror3.
The movie has received critical acclaim for its masterful historical drama about evil operating in plain sight 3. One of the most disturbing things about Scorsese’s ambitious adaptation is how little of its vile behavior stays in the shadows. This is the story of men who treated murder almost mundanely, issuing orders to have people killed like they would order a drink at the bar 3. Scorsese walks that fine line between telling a very specific story of a couple at the heart of a tragedy and commenting on the larger nature of evil 3.
Robert De Niro gives one of the best performances of his career as William King Hale, a man who prefers to be called “King,” rivetingly capturing the kind of sociopath who can sell murder with a smile. He doesn’t stab you in the back. He looks you in the eyes as he does it 3. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Ernest Burkhardt, who has returned home from war and starts as a driver in the area for wealthy Osage. He meets Mollie (Lily Gladstone), and they marry just before Mollie’s family and other members of the Osage population are murdered one after another 3.
The movie is monumentally long (206 minutes) and moves at an unhurried pace, but it knows where it’s going and barely a second is wasted. It’s sinuous and old-school, an instant American classic; almost Steinbeckian in its attention to detail and its banked, righteous rage 4. The movie has grossed $86 million worldwide.
In conclusion, “Killers of the Flower Moon” is an admirable yet vexingly uneven film that tells a true story about corrupt, violent men that Scorsese has explored for a half-century 5. The movie’s cast delivers some of their best performances to date. The film’s attention to detail and its banked, righteous rage make it an instant American classic.
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