Martin Scorsese surrounds himself with people who are at the top of their game, enhancing his work to another level. Killers of the Flower Moon is such a good example of this, from (almost) every cast member to actually every technical aspect. It is crazy to be operating at such a high level this far into your career.
I think what makes Scorsese such an important filmmaker is his willingness to learn and eagerness to tell different stories. He has a pretty central theme of a powerful figurehead, watching their rise and fall. However, this universal theme is surrounded by unique and rich stories with fully realised characters and impeccable attention to detail.
Hearing Scorsese speak about the plot of this film, he originally adapted the book of the same name to follow the narrative it laid out. One of the FBI in it’s infancy. Realising that the real story behind this was one of complicated love and betrayal made for a much more emotionally impactful story, leaning into the human side of this tragic period in history.
We’re in 1920s Oklahoma, with Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) returning from the war to live with his powerful uncle William Hale (Robert De Niro) in the heart of the Osage nation community. William had a sort of leader role in this community, not directly giving orders but silently manipulating the tribe from the background in order to gain trust and respect from the people.
When Ernest comes to town, he picks up a taxi service to make some money in the interim of figuring out what to do. He meets Molly (Lily Gladstone) who he immediately connects to and is encouraged by William to pursue this relationship. We quickly find out his intentions, which bleed into Ernest’s intentions, stealing and taking advantage of the Osage nation. At the time, the Osage people were the wealthiest people in the United States. This was thanks to some major oversight by the clever and all knowing colonisers, who kicked the Osage out of their original land, “gifting” them “worthless” land before finding out it was flowing with oil.
The women who own this land are sought after by oil digging white men, looking to be a nice house husband for a while.
There are so many layers of weirdness going on with these white men coming in to marry the Osage women, clearly exploiting them for their money. On the other hand, there is a knowledge of this by the women, understanding why the men are flocking to them, but wilfully marrying the men anyway, as it was seen as a bit of a status symbol at the time.
I think this story is such an important one to tell, and a good choice for Martin Scorsese to highlight, obviously having genuine care for the Osage Nation and the blatant disregard for their murders, which for the most case, went undetected and until an outcry, was not even investigated. The story, being told in the way that it is, is the only real way for Scorsese to do it. While it’s not directly from the Osage perspective, there is clear influence from them and a care for their side of the story.
Where complications come in is in the central relationship, which is a complex dynamic, as we watch Ernest exploit and destroy the lives of the Osage nation around him, including his wife. There is also a genuine love for her there, a knowledge that what he is doing is hurting someone he loves. The problem is the restraint that he lacks, his obsession with money taking him beyond a place of redemption as a character.
Leonardo DiCaprio is pretty good in this film, I’ll give him that. For me, he is a very in your face type of actor, really boldly showing his emotions on his face, and at times bleeding into overacting. The consistency of his character helps to allow our minds to just think Ernest is like that, being earnest in his portrayal of emotionally earnest Ernest. He helps to bring a charm to this character which makes us feel all the more uncomfortable while we watch him sneak around and generally be a shit.
Robert De Niro plays such a cold character in this film, having some acting off sessions with Leo. I was not blown away by him but also he wasn’t distracting, which is difficult when it’s Robert De Niro doing anything but De Niro.
For me, the standout was Lily Gladstone, putting her Kelly Reichardt accolades into practice and conveying everything in the subtly of her face, embodying the explained quieter nature of the Osage women. She is side-lined a little bit in this film, but for me, she still steals every scene she is in.
The widely debated Brendan Fraser performance did not work for me. He was shouty and weird in his speech patterns. Being so invested in this story, his cartoony portrayal did take me out of the moment a little bit, stepping back to recoil at his sudden Foghorn Leghorn line delivery.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this, Scorsese surrounds himself with crew at the top of the pyramid, really showcasing their talents here with stunning visuals, a soundtrack that keeps the pace and of course, Thelma Schoonmaker.
With Rodrigo Prieto taking the camera, you know he’s got the cowboy aesthetic down after working with emotional cowboys on Brokeback Mountain. He understands the landscapes he’s in and never misses, perfecting both the intimate closeups and those expensive crane shots, flaunting the authenticity in the environments created for this film.
The soundtrack has a beat throughout, with dynamic and unique pieces being played over it, it gives the film so much energy in its long runtime that it makes it feel less like a slog.
Thelma Schoonmaker is someone I will talk about as much as I can, she feels like the most empathetic editor I have ever come across, disregarding the intricacies of continuity for an impeccable pace and flow of a scene. She has such a distinct and silent style that I feel like I don’t notice her work while also taking it all in, in appreciation.
While Thelma’s work is always perfect from scene to scene, my only complaint about the film is its runtime. I know that everyone who wants to be contrarian is bringing this up, saying it is an excessive runtime where it didn’t justify it. I don’t feel the same, in fact I think all the scenes included were justified and importantly added to the story of the film. I just had the issue of taking everything in in the time it gave me. It’s an information and emotionally dense film. At times, I felt a little like it was racing by me while I was struggling to grip on. The film comes together so well though that it is hard to keep up any sort of ill feeling towards it’s presentation. I think it would be worth a rewatch to see how I feel with more context.
To end off my review, I would like to discuss the ending in the vaguest details when I say it was so impressive and respectful. Just like I was, in this ending. Goodbye.
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