By Marc S. Sanders
Killers Of The Flower Moon reflects on a period in Oklahoma history that I imagine has hardly been told. In the early 1920s, the Native American residents, consisting of four tribes, came into a blessing of wealth when oil was discovered on the land they occupied in Osage County. Almost immediately, white folk from all over the country migrated to this area and built up an infrastructure of capitalism that included private practices, pool halls, movie houses, law enforcement, pharmaceuticals, and even cab drivers. However, they didn’t want to just stop at developing the area. They wanted to seize it and they proceeded to do so by wiping out the Native American residents. Family lineages were all but erased as the whites married into the race and gradually found ways to kill and bring about surprising deaths that would ultimately allow them to legally inherit what was rightfully owned by the Indian people.
Director Martin Scorsese has introduced a new kind of historical education with a film that I believe will be my favorite picture of the year. I was mesmerized by every photographic shot, closeup, edit, and musical accompaniment contained in this movie. Everything works so well.
Robert De Niro reunites with the director for the tenth time; an amazing legacy of a partnership spanning fifty years. He portrays William “King” Hale. King is a kindly old fellow on the surface, but his intelligence shows as he strategizes how to take over more and more of this area. He oversees a control of the white gentlemen folk, leading them into quick marriages with the young women of the tribes. From there, they have children and over time will gradually purify the bloodline. It’s a ruthless and scheming tactic and it successfully works thanks to how taciturn Mr. Hale is. De Niro might win his third Oscar for this role. This character joins that exclusive fraternity of the best villains in cinematic history, ranking up there with The Wicked Witch, Harry Lime, Norman Bates, Darth Vader, Joker, Daniel Plainview and Hannibal Lecter.
Early on in the epic film, The King’s nephew, Ernest Burkart (Leonardo DiCaprio) has returned from the war to work under his uncle. Ernest starts as a cab driver and meets Molly (Lily Gladstone), the Native American woman he will take as a bride and establish residence together. DiCaprio does some of his best work following a very boastful career of roles. He’s also sure to get at least an Oscar nomination. This is already his sixth film with Scorsese. Ernest is not very bright, but with The King’s guidance and instruction he’ll also come to own much of this territory.
Mysterious deaths of unexpected natures occur within the tribes of Osage County, particularly in Molly’s family. Over the course of the film, one relative after another perishes until what’s left of her bloodline is practically only herself. The children she bears are a mix of Molly and Ernest. Molly knows something is amiss. She is starting not to feel well, and her suspicions speak to her. Others in the community are also suffering peculiar deaths following doctor’s visits or evenings of drunken binging. An investigation is warranted before it becomes too late.
Lily Gladstone will become a surprise hit at Oscar time as well. A breakthrough role where her feared silence and bravery matches well against the deceit emanating from the King and even the poorly hidden conniving of her husband Ernest.
Scorsese builds his film with suspense and shock. A quiet beat of instrumental music haunts certain scenes. Who will be the next target of the King’s bidding? The King hides behind his empathy for loss by attending funeral services and allowing the survivors to cry into his shoulder. On another side, he instructs Ernest to carry out an assignment to some flunky to make a murder appear like a suicide. A shot in the back of the head will not send a convincing cause and effect though, and the King and Ernest must make up for that.
The King is everyone’s friend in Osage County, but he’s also a puppet master Grim Reaper. With the circular rim glasses that DeNiro wears along with his peaceful beige suits, it’s a wonder that this man is an executioner using the hands of others to carry out his bidding. He dances in the middle of town during festive gatherings. It even amuses the Sheriff’s office when he voluntarily offers himself up following a warrant for his arrest. At the risk of getting politically sided, DeNiro was recently interviewed during a press junket for the film. His animosity towards President Trump is no secret. I was in the audience at Radio City Music Hall when he led a unified roar of “Fuck Trump” during the Tony Awards. Still, the skilled actor said he used the enmity he harbors to his advantage for this role. In the latter half of the film, William “The King” Hale preaches in a similar approach to Trump. There are figures in our history who just know what buttons to push and absorb massive amounts of influence while earning respect through fear.
Killers Of The Flower Moon covers a wide berth of its period in history. Scorsese takes an inspired approach by cutting away on occasion with black and white footage and photographs of the Native Americans coming along with their good fortune and then on to how the white “immigrants” of this area enter this land and assume a daily life within the community, whether they were welcomed or not. All is depicted from how Osage County quickly changed following the discovery of “black gold,” to how Ernest becomes wise to the advantages of power.
Leonardo DiCaprio has a great undertaking. Ernest is not very bright. He can hardly read. He’s not subtle with his approach like his uncle. Yet, the actor maintains an expression of no choice to abide by but what he’s been told is right. DiCaprio does this incredible expression with long frowned lips and a fat chin that stands out from beneath his nose. It almost seems like a barrier to finding the humanity he may have once had when he was an infantryman fighting with the allies in Europe. It is just a haunting performance.
The third act picks up with J Edgar Hoover’s newly established Bureau of Investigation entering the story to investigate the odd happenings in Osage. Jesse Plemons again plays that guy that you have seen somewhere before. Often, he occupies similar kinds of roles, and still, I like what he contributes to this picture as Investigator Tom White. Screenwriter Eric Roth lends the character simple, plainly worded questions for Plemmons to work with and it seems to come off as nothing intimidating. Rather, the presence of Tom White on Ernest’s doorstep, with Molly mysteriously sick in the bedroom, is enough to rattle Ernest, the King, and the whole county.
It’s no secret that Killers Of The Flower Moon has a long running time at nearly three and a half hours. However, it is necessary. This widespread crime is not done in just minutes. How it is gradually orchestrated needs to be seen, followed by those that uncovered how sinister it became. Then attention needs to be given to how biased the trials of Ernest and The King had become. Men who conspired with the King and Ernest serve on the jury. A lot of unfair wrongs occurred during this time spanning what I believe was at least a decade and a half.
Roth and Scorsese bring the conclusion of the film with a welcome invention. In a time where Netflix, Dateline, 20/20 and ABC News thrive off true life crime documentaries that become so addicting, the filmmakers resort to a radio show to sum up what happened to the main players of this devastating episode in twentieth century American history with the director making a cameo to offer his final words for the main victim of the piece, Molly Burkhart. This bookend to the film has stayed with me since I finished watching the movie, and I applaud Scorsese and Roth for their execution. Newsmakers of today go for the most sensationalized crimes that have occurred; the ones that leave the most shock and awe and even audaciousness. What happened in Osage County is unforgivable. Likely a genocide of bloodlines that were unjustly ceased so that what was rightfully theirs to own could be seized.
Killers Of The Flower Moon is a drama that had to be told because the motivations that led to the series of crimes happens not only to Native Americans, but to practically any other demographic across the globe. This is a captivating story and one of the best films Martin Scorsese has ever made.
Again, this will likely be my favorite film of the year and Oscars are deserved for DeNiro, DiCaprio, Gladstone, Roth, Scorsese and for Best Picture of the Year.
NOTE: As I watched this movie, I could not help but think of the film August: Osage County, the motion picture adapted from Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer Prize winning play. There is one Native American character in the film who is hired to serve the white family living on a wide expanse of land in present day 2013 (2007 for the play). The first time I watched the movie, I could not recognize the purpose of the character. On a second viewing, following a conversation among the dysfunctional family of characters about Native Americans, it was much clearer. Having now watched Scorsese’s film, this picture serves as a great companion piece to watch afterwards. I’ll be directing a stage production of this soon and much of what I learned from both films will be incorporated into my interpretation. Even the architectural designs of the homes in both films, interior and exterior, are uniquely similar.
Look for my review of August: Osage County (featuring Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep) on this site as well.
2 UNPAID MOVIE CRITICS!!!! 