Title – Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Director – Martin Scorsese (Cape Fear)
Cast – Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, Robert De Niro, Jesse Plemons, Brendan Fraser
Plot – The true story of a series of grizzly murders that occurred in Osage Nation land in the American state of Oklahoma during the 1920’s and how these gruesome acts drew the attention of the FBI and highlighted issues at the very core of the land of the free.
“Money flows freely here”
Review by Eddie on 26/10/2023
At 80 years of age, I’m sure I’m not alone in being thankful that legendary director Martin Scorsese is still defining age and not only making feature films but making feature films still right up there as some of the best on offer, as his mostly impeccable post 2000’s filmography continues to enhance his reputation as one of the all-time greats.
His first film since his somewhat divisive Netflix mob epic The Irishman from 2019, Scorsese has once again returned to numb-bum territory with his 206 minute adaptation of author David Grann’s novel Killers of the Flower Moon, an adaptation that sees the bespectacled master collaborating with his old faithful team of Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio to gift us a meticulously made drama that thanks to its distributor Apple has arrived at a time when many films of this calibre have jumped shipped to 2024 release dates.
In the times since The Irishman’s arrival in 2019, Scorsese has been making headlines talking about the effects of Marvel films on the artistry of the film-making medium and more recently doubling down on his insistence that in an age where many individuals and family units spend most of their nights binging streaming services (and their phone screens), long running times for films aren’t that big of a deal but despite all his passion and many valid points it’s sad too say that Moon doesn’t always earn its epic runtime as Scorsese’s film is one you can always appreciate on an artistic level but one that remains mostly emotionally cold and devoid of spark across its repetitive and sometimes unfocused journey.
Differing from Grann’s book in a sense that for the majority of its proceedings examining the terrible murders afflicting the Osage Nation in Oklahoma in the early 1920’s it points the lens squarely on the relationship and dealings of Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone’s couple Ernest and Mollie Burkhart and Ernest’s uncle William Hale (played with some grizzled glee by De Niro) rather than on the FBI’s eventual involvement in what was happening in the state, with Jesse Plemon’s Tom White and co only coming on board in the films later stages, Moon takes a respectful approach to the true life tale at the heart of its narrative but in doing so Scorsese forgot to make his film justify its runtime or give us an emotional core that would’ve been the magic ingredient this labour of love craves.
Strangely much has been made about the film belonging to Gladstone’s Mollie and how she is the true star of the show here but the actress who has previously been best known for independent films such as Certain Woman and First Cow doesn’t really ever get too do to much here other than look sweaty and remain po-faced throughout as DiCaprio chews the scenery (and his lips) and becomes the real focus of Scorsese’s gaze as the hard to read and often dimwitted Ernest, who battles insulin injections as some of the films most frequent attention grabbers.
It’s a typically solid performance from DiCaprio and witnessing him play off the likes of De Niro and in small moments Plemons and even a Brandan Fraser cameo is solidly entertaining but for such a dialogue heavy film there’s nothing spectacular about the ensemble in Scorsese’s film or in the beating heart stakes, with the relationship between Mollie and Ernest never one that takes hold the way in which one might’ve hoped for.
With all this to consider the true star of Scorsese’s at times dragging affair is the production values and stunning work of his creative team that includes memorable work by his DOP Rodrigo Prieto, with Moon one of the best looking and alive feeling films of the year, helping it overcome a sometimes intrusive and distracting score by the late Robbie Robertson and a poorly structured sound design that at times does a disservice to a film that wants its words to do much of the work.
There’s undeniable moments of magic in Moon (a fire on a farmstead or an opening segment at a train station come to mind) and when Scorsese finds his groove he’s almost unmatched by any current or past director but for all the moments in his latest offering there’s too many misses and mismanaged components for this to be regarded as one of his best works.
Final Say –
A film that tries desperately to be special and sometimes reaches that tagline, Killers of the Flower Moon is far from a misfire but there’s an emotional coldness to Scorsese’s pretty but overlong and repetitive epic that misses its chance to gift us the quintessential telling of a true life tale that should’ve made for a far more gripping and impactful feature, the type of feature that it clearly was aiming to be.
3 1/2 paddlings out of 5
Jordan and Eddie (The Movie Guys) 
I read the book but haven’t seen the film yet. I can picture everything you lay out here, and I giggled a bit:
“…but the actress who has previously been best known for independent films such as Certain Woman and First Cow doesn’t really ever get too do to much here other than look sweaty and remain po-faced throughout as DiCaprio chews the scenery (and his lips) and becomes the real focus of Scorsese’s gaze as the hard to read and often dimwitted Ernest, who battles insulin injections as some of the films most frequent attention grabbers.”
I feel really strange about the hype around her performance Pugs, be interested to hear what you think, especially as someone else who has read the original source.
E
The book consists of three sections, “The Marked Woman,” “The Evidence Man,” and “The Reporter.”
The writing is concise and engaging like very good journalistic history.
These excerpts about Mollie may provide insight to how Gladstone portrayed her:
‘Mollie relied on Ernest for support. A lawyer who knew them both noted his “devotion to his Indian wife and his children is unusual…and striking.” He comforted Mollie as she threw herself into organizing Anna’s funeral.’ (24).
“Mollie kept vigil over her mother, one of the last tethers to the tribe’s ancient way of life. Mollie could not cure her, but she could feed her, and she could brush her long, beautiful, silvery hair from her face — a face that was lined and expressive, that maintained its aura.” (39).
‘While the tribe waited for the federal government to respond, Mollie lived in dread, knowing that she was the likely next target in the apparent plot to eliminate her family. She couldn’t forget the night, several months before the explosion, when she had been in bed with Ernest and heard a noise outside her house. Someone was breaking into their car. Ernest comforted Mollie, whispering, “Lie still,” as the perpetrator roared away in the stolen vehicle.’ (106).
There’s also a bit about diabetes on page 197 that is worth a read and could be a spoiler in the sense that if it’s in the movie, it should be enjoyed without knowing more for anyone who has not read the book.
If I decide to watch the movie while it’s in theatres and not wait for the DVD, I’ll certainly blog about it and link your post. ^J^
Thanks Pugs, appreciate that and I’ve been telling a lot of people too read the book. To me that is the superior telling of this story.
E
It makes more sense in the US where the “land back” movement is gaining traction among young radicals and the concept of “indeginity” is replacing Marxism on the left.
I hope money flows directly into Marty’s pocket so he could make another great film like this one.
😉
I’ll always be one of the first too buy a ticket mate but I didn’t love this one, artistically wise it was outstanding but I felt it missed the mark a little in other areas and too me, did not need to be 206 minutes, 2 and a half hours and the story could have been told just as well if not better.
E
Yes, I read that. But your final rate is not so bad.😉
This review rates this movie as low as I’ve seen. I’m ready to see it and I’m curious to see how I like it because I sometimes hate what so many others love. Sometimes too, it is just difficult to watch things about American history, since not much of it is really all that good. The natives, slavery, lawlessness of the old west lawmen, etc. Not to mention that WMD thing circa 1945.
It’s a real shameful part of that time of American history mate. Just something slightly off about this film that too me should have packed far more of a punch and been far more thrilling at times than it was.
E
Good review. I have to agree with you about this movie. I thought it was good, but not fantastic as a lot are making it out to be. The story was interesting, the production quality was solid, and the writing was sharp, but I felt like the movie was too long, to sluggish in its pacing, and bit boring at times. Maybe if it had a tighter focus on its runtime, the project could’ve been better. So, it’s good, but, much like The Irishman, I have very little reason to rewatch the film.
Yeh I can’t help but think its a good film and one that is very well made in a lot of ways but there is a coldness to it and there is no denying the pacing and emotional coldness at times is far from ideal. I don’t think its going to hold onto the praise its gotten for long to be honest.
E
Better than Oppenheimer?
Not by a long shot in my book mate.
E
I read the book. Not bad. The problem is the FBI agent is the hero, basically young Kevin Costner in the Untouchables. That’s not really Scorsese’s style. So without a hero the movie probably descends into nihilism, Mississippi Burning from the point of view of the Klan.
My contrarian hot take:
Scorsese is an overrated director who hasn’t make a good movie since Goodfellas.
And he has no undersanding of American history outside his Italian Catholic ghetto.
Gangs of NYC completely distorted the history of the Know Nothings and the Draft Riots.
And spare me his protestations of integrity. He miscast DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz as Irish immigrants because they were big stars at the time and he wanted to sell tickets.
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