FILM REVIEWS Words by Harry Moore
“KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON” Martin Scorsese’s majestic epic is a soulful chronicle of one of America’s many great untold tragedies that works as a cumulative work from the masterful filmmaker as he reaches the twilight of his life and career. Based on David Grann’s acclaimed true crime book of the same name, “Killers of the Flower” takes place in Oklahoma during the 1920s when people in the Osage Nation struck oil on their land, bringing in great wealth, which was soon followed by greed, betrayal and death from those outside of their community as a grand conspiracy aiming to kill the Osage and steal their fortune takes place. For the first time, Scorsese has united his two great on-screen muses, Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, both of whom have given some of their best performances when collaborating with the director. And “Killers of the Flower Moon” is no different in that regard, but the heart and soul of this film rests firmly with Lily Gladstone in what is sure to be a career-making performance. The film is largely told from the perspective of Ernest Burkhart (DiCaprio), a recently returned veteran of World War I who goes to his wealthy uncle William “King” Hale (De Niro) in search of work. Hale poses as a benefactor for the local Osage community, learning their language and bringing the area into the modern world with renovated buildings and roads, all while acting as a shadowy crime lord, scheming to murder and steal away the native people’s riches. Hale pushes Ernest to get close to Mollie Kyle (Gladstone), an Osage woman whose family owns a large share of the oil, and the two soon form a romance as Hale plots to have Mollie’s family members killed one by one, as well as dozens of other members of the tribe. There is little respite from the misery of this story. There are moments where Scorsese can squeeze in his trademark sense of pitch-dark humor but even those feel too morose to muster any real laughter. This is a methodical look at the final spasms of America’s original sin and the banal evil of the men who openly orchestrated these crimes over the course of several years with impunity, smiling in the face of the Osage people as they prepared to stab them in the back. Even when agents from the newly minted Bureau of Investigation led by Agent Tom White (Jesse Plemons) ride in to save the day it feels too late. The once-thriving Osage community has been decimated beyond repair, and Hale and his oil baron cronies have amassed too much wealth and power to be served any real level of justice.
Lily Gladstone and Leonardo DiCaprio in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” in theaters now. Photo obtained from AppleTV Press
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