Killers of the Flower Moon

Don’t trust your soul to no backwoods southern chauffeur

Lily Gladstone leads the cast of Martin Scorsese's historical epic Killers of the Flower Moon.

The US Government promised the Osage Nation they wouldn’t have to move again. Pushed off their ancestral lands by soldiers, the people were again displaced when the government decided their reservation lands were too valuable. They settled, finally, on giving the Osage Nation a barren plot in Oklahoma, where presumably the people wouldn’t bother any of the “real citizens” who had “rights” to the good land.

But then the oil was discovered.

Almost overnight the worthless, barren grounds the Osage were forced onto were the most precious acres in the country. The Osage people kept the head rights, selling drilling rights to eager oil companies. The people the government banished to a wasteland were now the wealthiest people per capita in the world.

And the settlers of the stolen lands were very bothered by that.  

In the 1920s, the Osage Nation had unimaginable wealth, and also unimaginably bad luck. It seems their people would die frequently in freak accidents or suicides that were barely investigated by the white police force. Married Osage would be slaughtered, with their white spouses inheriting the rights to the oil-rich land.

Still, when Mollie (Lily Gladstone) meets chauffeur Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio), she doesn’t sense any danger. He’s ambitious and likes money, but he’s also bumbling and sweet. She’s charmed by his blundering attentions. Plus, he’s the nephew of “King” Bill Hale (Robert De Niro), a cattleman who’s long been a friend of the Osage people. What harm could come of such a match?

Then, her family starts to die.

Is it possible Ernest isn’t who she thought he was? Can the Osage find justice from a government that’s displaced and erased them in the past?

When a movie is longer than The Godfather Part II, it better be a masterpiece. Luckily, director Martin Scorsese knows what he’s doing. This sweeping tale is part love story, part historical horror, and a film that feels epic in its proportions. From the sweep of the land to the care with which details are layered into every frame, this is a film that was crafted meticulously. And it’s a testament to both the power of the story, the filmmaker, and the performers that after 3.5 hours in a dark room, I was burning with the desire to know more.

Scorsese does an excellent job of grounding the film in a historical context without making it feel like you’re in a history lecture. He flushes out the tensions between the Osage Nation and the white people who resent their success. There are mentions of other race massacres, like the Tulsa Race Massacre, to further explain that the Osage were very aware of how dangerous their position in society was. Killers of the Flower Moon is a story where context matters, and Scorsese does his best to put the viewer in the midst of the violence without making the film drag.

To help Scorsese keep this giant of a film from getting out of hand are a team of frequent collaborators. Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto works hard to keep the film a mixture of colorful vistas and bleak interiors. His work with shadow and fire is stunning and adds depth and nuance to the scenes. Editor Thelma Schoonmaker took on the herculean task of assembling this wide-ranging story into a comprehensible narrative. She keeps the film on pace so that each moment in the film feels vital to the story.

Killers of the Flower Moon is an epic, that seems to draw from varied auteurs, showcasing Scorsese’s love of film and deep knowledge of the art form. There’s plenty of Coppola’s Godfather in the lighting and framing of scenes. There’s a bit of the Coen brothers’ dark absurdist worldview with the sheer audacity and incompetence of some of the killings. There’s even some Ari Aster as the dread of what’s to come builds relentlessly. And, yes, there’s a good deal of Scorsese’s own gangster pedigree on display.  

While the subject matter — namely the rampant murders of the Osage people for the crime of thriving when they should have suffered — may seem far removed from a director more known for gangster tales, Scorsese draws parallels between the murderers and the Goodfellas of his most famous works. Henry Hill warns the audience that the most dangerous people are often those you see as friends. “They come as your friends, the people who have cared for you all of your life, and they always seem to come at a time when you’re at your weakest and most in need of their help.”

And Robert De Niro’s King Hale is all smiles. He knows the language, he sits with the tribe during meetings, he offers traditional blessings. But this man is not their ally, he’s the devil in a grandpa’s clothes. He’ll kill your whole family and hold you when you cry. It’s an unnerving performance and one that’s a highlight in De Niro’s storied career.

As his nephew and dimwitted helper, DiCaprio excels in a role that feels different from most of his filmography. Ernest is a racist, who also seemingly loves his Native wife. He’s easily led, mostly because he’s too dull to understand the obvious machinations around him. He’s just dumb enough to be cruel and just smart enough to act contrite when he needs to. It’s an interesting role that draws something captivating from an actor who would often rather publicize his willingness to eat bear livers over his ability to emote effectively.

But the real star of the film is unquestionably Gladstone, who operates both as the beating heart of the love story and the final girl in this historic horror story. Mollie is not a fool, she understands the white town around her hates her, but she’s also deeply in love with her husband and wants to believe the best of him. As her world unravels, she must pick her way through a minefield, finding her own ways to help herself and her people. Mollie tells Ernest early on that Osage people find power in quiet, and Gladstone manages to make a performance that is impassive on the surface seem breathlessly urgent and heartbreaking when we glimpse the turmoil in her life.

The only sour note in the cast, loaded with brilliant character actors and performances, is Brendan Fraser’s inexplicably shrill attorney. He seems to have taken the Steve Carell LOUD NOISES meme to heart, and bless him, this is a movie that operates better when subtly wins the day.

Overall, Killers of the Flower Moon is a thoughtful, beautiful film about a horrifying moment in history. Scorsese elevates the material with his typical brand of muscular filmmaking to keep you from feeling the running time. If you can check the film out in theaters, you should — just don’t buy a large soda, you need to be in your seat for the whole film.

Verdict: Thoughtful and poetic, this is a modern epic that should be seen on the big screen.

Killers of the Flower Moon is rated R and is available in theaters or on AppleTV+ after its theatrical run.