Film review: ‘KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON’ by Nick Gardener from ‘Built For Speed’
Martin Scorsese has largely built his reputation and ravenous following as a filmmaker on contemporary stories of misfits seeking redemption and Italian American gangsters. Frequently, though, he’s stepped away from that milieu to explore historical subjects and biopics in films like The Age of Innocence, Gangs of New York and The Aviator. He hasn’t ventured into the western genre but his latest film, Killers Of the Flower Moon is about as close as he’s come to that world so far. This beautifully shot, finely acted but very long and at times unnecessarily slow-moving film sees Scorsese reflecting on America’s (and in effect many nations’) dark past (and present) and its treatment of its indigenous people.
The film explores what became known as the Osage County murders or ‘the reign of terror’. In 1897, oil was discovered on lands belonging to the Native American people, the Osage Nation, in Oklahoma which rapidly made them some of the richest people per capita in the world. Suddenly, the structure of wealth and power in the area was upended with Native American people able to afford nice homes and goods and enter parts of society previously denied them. In the background, though, rich, unscrupulous white people still controlled political power and felt entitled to the native Americans’ new found wealth. One of these power brokers was William ‘King’ Hale (Robert DeNiro) a local cattle baron who, as depicted here, recruits his newly returned World War 1 veteran nephew Ernest Burkhard (Leo DiCaprio) to marry into one of the Osage Nation families to ensure their great wealth and oil rights winds up with him. Tragically, this also involves Hale orchestrating the murders of Native American people and anyone who might stand in the way of him getting his paws on that money.
There are shades of Boardwalk Empire’s Nucky Thompson and Jimmy Darmody in the sinister relationship between Hale and Burkhard. Hale, like Nucky, is the corrupt puppet master hiding his murderous ways behind the façade of benevolent businessman and colourful local figure while Burkhard is the initially dutiful and compliant soldier who grows resentful of his boss’s ruthless manipulation.
De Niro provides one of his stronger performances of recent years as Hale. With cunning and cold-bloodedness, rather than physical violence, he makes him a menacing figure. Leo delivers a decent performance as Burkhardt but it’s a little too intense and at times feels forced with a lot of scowling and grimacing; at one point he contorts his face to look like Brando from The Godfather. Lily Gladstone, however, as Burkhart’s graceful, intelligent but physically ailing Native American wife Molly gives us something really special. Molly is the film’s most sympathetic character and Gladstone makes her a hypnotic presence in every scene in which she appears. Surely, an Oscar nomination at the very least in on the horizon for Gladstone. Some characters, though such as Jesse Plemons investigating FBI agent and Brendan Fraser’s lawyer are underdeveloped, giving the impression that we’re watching a truncated mini-series where some characters contributions have been greatly edited.
Scorsese fans should know this film does not feature the rapid-fire, music-driven montages for which Marty is renowned. Scorsese allows the story to unspool at a fairly gentle pace which is both a blessing and a curse. He gives the main characters plenty of room to breathe and allows audiences time to immerse themselves in the world of the Osage Nation. Still, at three and a half hours, the film doesn’t always grip our attention and at times feels like it’s meandering, particularly in the middle section and some audience members’ minds may wander.
Aesthetically, though, this is one of Scorsese’s most memorable films of recent years with striking vistas of the flower-laden Oklahoma prairies, some of which recall the works of Monet. There’s also a remarkable stylistic twist toward the end of this film that allows Scorsese to not only critique America’s history and treatment of its Native peoples but also himself as a story teller.
This is a fine, if at times sluggish, piece of cinema that addresses a disturbing and vital part of history. Sadly, the events depicted here were only a small part of the misery and mistreatment inflicted on the Osage Nation.
Nick’s rating: ***1/2
Genre: Drama/ Historical.
Classification: MA15+.
Director(s): Martin Scorsese.
Release date: 27th Oct 2023.
Running time: 100 mins.
Reviewer: Nick Gardener can be heard on “Built For Speed” every Friday night from 8-10pm on 88.3 Southern FM.