Killers of the Flower Moon Review: Another Scorsese Masterpiece!
Martin Scorsese is no stranger to developing dramatic and epic films with history surrounding them. Oftentimes his films are set in a historic period even if the narratives he develops are fictionalized. Regardless, his films feel like distinct moments in time that are created through the vivid and often flawed characters he portrays, giving the audience so much to digest in a single film.
Killers of the Flower Moon, based on the book by David Grann, and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and Lily Gladstone, is a true story of the Osage Nation murders in Oklahoma in the 1920s after oil was struck on Native American land. With so little mainstream media that focuses on Native Americans along with Native filmmakers, this film was a great opportunity to tell a horrific-yet-essential story with Natives at the center being portrayed by real Native actors and crew members. Luckily, Scorsese’s film is a well handled and darkly disturbing film that shines a light on our own horrific history.
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Leonardo Dicaprio plays Ernest Burkhart, nephew of William King Hale (Robert De Niro). He marries Mollie (Lily Gladstone), a rich Native American Osage Nation woman under the instruction of his uncle, with the plan of inheriting the Osage Nation people’s money through a series of murders they and other White Men commit. The pacing of the film is one of its strong points, allowing relationships between characters to develop and the audience to feel the time through the years covered.
Mollie’s siblings and parents are being murdered one by one, causing her to suspect she also has a target on her back, knowing quite well why her people are being murdered. Lily Gladstone gives a marvelous performance. Her reserved nature despite the atrocities going on around her is what differentiates her character from others.
Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Dir: Martin Scorsese pic.twitter.com/dilbIl6WFc— Martin Scorsese Point (@scorsesepoint) October 20, 2023
Martin Scorsese is aware of his ability and talents to bring this story to the big screen but is always conscious of his limitations being an individual far removed from his Native subjects. History has always been told by those given the voice to do so, portraying a one sided version of history. Given that Scorsese knows he is yet another White Man, the way the script transpires allows the audience to recognize that he is fully aware of this fact and plays into it with an ending that is deeply upsetting yet extremely accurate. Scorsese put so much care into the story he told, as best as he could, being conscious of his obvious limitations while showing why he is still one of the greatest filmmakers of our time.
Killers of the Flower Moon is a testament to how good a film can be when it treats its subjects with respect and empathy while also being able to look within ourselves and come to terms with our own flawed history. In a world where our society is constantly banning reading materials and censoring media because of its inclusion and exploration of other cultures and races, Killers of the Flower Moon is a movie that never tries to make the audience empathize with its disgusting non-native characters.
It portrays them and the people who massacred Osage Nation natives as exactly the destructive people they were. The film allows us to think about the people we have pushed to the side for too long and acknowledge that without knowing the truth we can not live and learn from the past. Martin Scorsese has done it again in one of his best films yet.
‘Killer of the Flower Moon’ Rating – 4.5/5
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