Greed Arrives in a Wealthy Community, and Starts a Deadly Spread

Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone in 
"Killers of the Flower Moon"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

One of the most significant aspects about director Martin Scorsese’s filmmaking is how he’s been able to show compelling views of America through many time periods, and this is especially true in his films that are based on real subjects.  He’s covered the boxing career of Jake LaMotta in “Raging Bull,” the life of gangster Henry Hill in “Goodfellas,” the Catholic-Protestant feud in the Five Points slums in “Gangs of New York,” the filmmaking career of Howard Hughes in “The Aviator,” the Wall Street years of Jordan Belfort in “The Wolf of Wall Street,”  and the tension between Frank Sheeran and Jimmy Hoffa in “The Irishman.”  With these stories covering many decades of nineteenth- and twentieth-century America, Scorsese has analyzed the country in such a way that has never lost its impact.

His latest film tackles a true story during an especially dark chapter in America’s history with “Killers of the Flower Moon.”  In a filmmaking career that’s stacked up with so many movies that can be considered his best, this is a film that continues this trend and can be considered another high point from one of cinema’s most prolific visionaries.

In the 1920s Osage Nation of Oklahoma, Native Americans gain vast riches after striking oil on their reservations.  During this time, Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) returns from the war to live with and work for his rancher uncle, William Hale (Robert De Niro).  Soon, at the behest of his uncle, Ernest falls in love with a local Osage, Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone), whose family owns oil headrights.  When his uncle begins having Osages killed in order to have their riches passed on to him and other white settlers, Mollie tries to keep her family safe, while Ernest is torn between the love for his wife and loyalty to his uncle.

This is DiCaprio’s sixth collaboration with Scorsese, and it further shows how well the two work together, with Scorsese eliciting another mammoth performance from his lead.  DiCaprio presents Ernest as someone who may be somewhat dim, yet noble; but also someone who can be easily corrupted.  He has a simple-mindedness that his uncle uses as a tool.  DiCaprio shows Ernest as someone who tries to be tougher than he really is and wanting to prove himself.  Even when he able’s to command someone into doing something, DiCaprio exhibits a shakiness in Ernest’s newfound assertive nature, and it’s that hesitancy that shows how much of a pawn Ernest is for his uncle, the one who’s really in charge.  Aside from that aspect of Ernest’s character, we see the other factor that makes this one of the most complicated performances of DiCaprio’s career, and that’s the deep love that Ernest has for Mollie.  It’s a love that flourishes, but is then poisoned by the greed that slips into it.  The inner turmoil that DiCaprio gives to his character is seen throughout, and he commands his role as he displays Ernest trying to grapple with this conflict.

Gladstone gives one of the most powerful performances of the year as Mollie.  She presents her character as someone who has a very guarded demeanor as she meets Ernest.  Even when Mollie warms up to him, Gladstone still upholds the protectiveness that her character has for herself.  There’s so much strength to her performance as she exhibits someone who’ll do whatever she can to safeguard whoever she can from being taken from her, showing resilience in the face of constant tragedy.  There’s as much going on in her quiet moments as there are in the moments when she speaks, and this presents Gladstone’s acting abilities beyond what we’ve seen before.  It’s impossible not to be pulled into her performance whenever she’s on screen.  She’s appeared in a handful of independent films up to this point, most notably with a terrific role in Kelly Reichardt’s 2016 drama, “Certain Women,” where she really got to shine.  But, what we see here is a door being burst open as to what else Gladstone is capable of doing.

A major accomplishments of the film is the stunning chemistry that DiCaprio and Gladstone have, especially near the beginning when their characters get to know each other.  There’s a dinner scene that they share, which is one of the best sequences in the movie; and, that’s saying something, given how this film is loaded with memorable scenes.  The way in which they slowly open up to each other, careful in what they say and how they say it, really sets the stage for what’s to come in their relationship throughout the rest of the film.  The connection that DiCaprio and Gladstone share in these few minutes shows you that you’re about to see one of the greatest screen pairings that Scorsese has ever assembled.

De Niro, working on his tenth film with Scorsese, gives an unforgettable and chilling performance as the snake-like William Hale who knows how to work people to his advantage and take whatever he wishes.  In a role that’s understatedly terrifying, De Niro shows Hale’s insatiable need for riches.  He takes what he wants and doesn’t care how many people he has to kill to get it.  De Niro exhibits Hale as an unstoppable force who presents himself as a benevolent community member, only to then unleash his venom on those whom he needs out of the way.  While this destructive determination is seen throughout the film, a highlight of this is a closeup shot of him as he walks through a crowd at a wedding as he marches towards his latest victim, exhibiting the quietly evil intent on his face as he remains fixed on taking out the Osage one by one.  Just like with DiCaprio and Scorsese, this performance is one that reminds you of why De Niro and Scorsese have worked so long together, and that’s because they know how to bring out the best in each other.

Among the rest of the cast, the standouts include Jesse Plemons as Tom White, the methodical BOI (Bureau of Investigation) agent with a looks-inside-your-mind investigative glare; John Lithgow as the committed prosecutor, Peter Leaward; Cara Jade Myers as Mollie’s rebellious sister, Anna; Louis Cancelmi as Kelsie Morrison, a sneaky accomplice of Burkhart and Hale’s; Yancey Red Corn as Chief Bonnicastle, the dedicated leader of the Osage who’ll do whatever he can to protect his people; and Sturgill Simpson as the murderous and cunning bootlegger Henry Grammer.  Similar to Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” we have a cast where, even if someone has just a couple of scenes, they show the fullest dedication to the material. 

The screenplay by Scorsese and Eric Roth, which is based on David Grann’s 2017 book of the same name, captures the sprawling, horrifying nature of the source material.  With a length of nearly three and half hours, this is Scorsese’s second longest film (just a few minutes shorter than “The Irishman”), but there isn’t anything that feels unnecessary.  Between the individuals of the Osage community and the white settlers who try to take their wealth, we see both sides of this conflict in tremendous detail.  The vast insights of Grann’s book are all there, bringing forth a story in its grim good-vs.-evil narrative.  The screenplay takes its time with putting all of its characters and tragic events in place as it builds and builds into pure darkness, showing the scale of this tragedy and everyone that was loss.  Then, once the BOI agents venture to Oklahoma to figure out who’s responsible for the murders, the narrative offers an intriguing and thorough view in how they went about rounding up the culprits.  We spend enough time with this aspect of the story as we get to know this new batch of characters who come in, leading to justice being served to those who chose injustice as their livelihood.

This movie continues to show Scorsese as a master of crafting some of cinema’s finest American epics, exhibiting a level of power from someone who still manages to top himself, even after more than five decades of filmmaking.  Working with Scorsese are those who’ve developed collaborative histories with him.  There’s his long-time editor Thelma Schoonmaker, who’s edited most of Scorsese’s movies and has the film go along smoothly.  You feel the length of the story, but not in a way that has you checking your watch, but in a way that has you feel the scope of the narrative.  The late Robbie Robertson, who passed away in August and has worked with Scorsese as both a composer and music supervisor, provides a first-rate score.  Rodrigo Prieto, who lensed Scorsese’s last two films, captures the scale of the Osage town and oil fields in imagery that transports you to what once thrived on black gold, but is soon overcome by death and moral decay.  However, Prieto’s biggest achievement here is the film’s final shot.  It’s an image that’s at once celebratory of the culture, yet haunting in what it’s endured, and is one of the finest endings of any Scorsese film.

“Killers of the Flower Moon” isn’t only in the running for one of the best films of the year, but possibly one of the best of decade.  The ambition that Scorsese shows isn’t surprising, but you still can’t help but be amazed at how he still finds new ways to astound moviegoers with how he brings a story to life.  We’re fortunate to have a director like him who cares so much about giving film lovers a movie that’ll cement itself in their minds both for its technical accomplishments and harrowing view into an American tragedy.  Once you see this movie, it’s one that you can’t, and shouldn’t, forget.

Grade: A