Telling the story of the Osage Indian murders of the 1920’s Martin Scorsese’s latest epic is a revisionist western that delves into the deep rooted racism of white supremacist America. 

A prologue briefly explains that the Osage Nation have become the richest per capita people in the world following the discovery of oil on the lands they were forcibly moved to by the United States Government. Full blooded Osage people were given “headrights” that granted them a quarterly share of the mineral profits from their land. 

The story is not told from the perspective of the Osage though. Instead it is told from that of the perpetrators of the crimes and shows the impact on the Osage peoples through the eyes of Molly Kyle (Lily Gladstone). 

Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) returns home to Oklahoma after The Great War to live with his uncle William ‘King’ Hale (Robert De Niro). King proclaims himself to be a great friend to the Native American Osage people and yet it becomes clear that could not be further from the truth. 

King believes that this land belongs to the white and through his nephew’s marriage to Molly and a series of murders he intends to inherit the wealth that the land holds for himself. 

Killers of the Flower Moon is intense, epic and emotionally sprawling. A huge amount of press has focused on its 206 minute running time, which is not even Scorsese’s longest feature run time (The Irishman clocks in at 209 minutes). But the time flies past because when a film is captivating its run time should not matter. The film succeeds because of its intricate portrayal of its heinous crimes through the lens of three fascinating characters portrayed by superb performances. 

The first performance I want to discuss is that of Robert De Niro. Scorsese and De Niro have been each others muse since 1973’s Mean Streets and this is their 10th feature together and it is an absolute joy to watch their chemistry fly again. They bring the best out in each other and De Niro is delivering at his peak here. ‘King’ Hale has a disconcerting duality where it appears he genuinely believes himself a friend to the Osage and a pillar of the community and yet he also doesn’t really consider them humans. In fact he considers them so beneath him that they are just a source of income for him. De Niro has always been able to play unsettling and evil characters but here he does so without physically acting upon them. He does so just by exerting his influence over others. The more you think on it the more evil you realise he is. 

From one muse to another. Leonardo DiCaprio is now in his 6th feature with Scorsese and his performances seem to improve with each film. Burkhart is a simplistic man who is not very bright. The scene where King questions his ability to read really gets to the heart of Ernest’s insecurities over his role in the war effort and his level of intelligence. And this level of intelligence along with his unquestioning loyalty to his uncle plays into the conflict that he finds himself facing. He seems unable to grasp the realisation of his actions. He believes he is in love with Molly and yet cannot see how his actions are destroying her life. Whilst King is genuinely evil and manipulative you begin to wonder how much Earnest’s actions were within his capacity to understand them. 

Finally there is Lily Gladstone who plays a strong woman who sees the evil all around her but tries to continue on through it. A key scene for me that shows her character’s outlook is when she and other Osage women discuss their white suitors motives for courting them. She is aware they want their money but is still trying to understand if there is love behind that desire for riches. A lot of Gladstone’s most powerful scenes are where she says little and it is the expressiveness of her face that make them so memorable. 

Later on in the film’s final stages Scorsese shakes things up with some impactful cameos. Jesse Plemons plays a federal agent sent to investigate the murders with a Columbo-esque charm. John Lithgow plays the prosecuting attorney with respect and decorum. And Brendan Fraser goes all out as the scene stealing southern defence attorney. Think, “what if Foghorn Leghorn were a lawyer?” We are then treated to perhaps the best Scorsese cameo in one of his own films in an epilogue that eschews a write up for something more interesting. 

It is a master class in film making and a superb watch. 

Check out my Martin Scorsese Retrospective for reviews of all of his feature films.