If you are expecting to walk into a typical Scorsese film, you may be surprised and possibly slightly disappointed by his latest epic, Killers of the Flower Moon. While the film is creating quite a buzz amongst critics, it may not play well with a general audience.
Killers of the Flower Moon depicts the shockingly true story of brutal murders surrounding the Osage Native American tribe of Osage County, Oklahoma. If you are not familiar with this piece of history, I strongly suggest not looking it up. That way, you are fully along for the ride of an incredibly true story, and the surprises will feel rewarding. However, a lot of Googling will have to be done as the film ends since it doesn’t do a great job explaining anything. That is, unfortunately, the movie’s biggest flaw when it should have been its greatest strength.
Not The Epic Western You Were Expecting
The trailers for this movie are deceiving. Killers of the Flower Moon looks like a typical Scorsese epic crime drama, but it’s a slow burn with little to no excitement. When it comes to crime, Scorsese can perfectly lay out pieces to a puzzle that lead to a grand ending. With this being a true story, everything he needed for that puzzle was right at his fingertips; he just chose to do nothing with those pieces. The film has no perspective. There’s no one guiding you through what is happening and giving answers to questions that go unresolved.
Constantly Craving Context
What’s heartbreaking is that this film seems to be told from the Osage Native American perspective, but in the end, it’s just not. It almost feels like, once again, we are seeing a white man’s retelling of the events that happened because it’s so focused on Earnest (Leonardo DiCaprio), a man who marries into the tribe, and William (Robert De Niro), the towns go-to guy for everything. The Native Americans in the movie are never given a voice as to why they are so trusting of the outsiders that they are living with or even why they need the government’s permission to use their own money. Sure, a quick search can give you those answers, but with a runtime of three hours and twenty-six minutes, you shouldn’t have to look anything up. The bizarre storytelling just leaves you confused and craving context.
Lilly Gladstone gave a solid performance playing the stoic adaptation of Mollie Burkhart. She did what she could with the material provided, but in the end, her character lacked depth and reasoning for why she loved her husband so much. In a film about the Osage Native American tribe, you would think they would receive ample screen time, but they just don’t. Too many scenes are centered around Earnest ) and William without ever getting into what their motives are on a deeper level. De Niro gave a spectacular performance, but it’s clear what his intentions are from the beginning, so it feels pointless when a reveal does happen. Scorsese would have benefitted from having women writers and Indigenous writers in the room to have the right emotion and characterization.
The saving grace of this film is when the FBI finally shows up within the last hour. Crime is where Scorsese excels. With just a few characters, including captivating performances from Jesse Plemons and Tatanka Means, he can perfectly place chess pieces that lead to a win. The ending, which is a complete 180 shift, feels the most like Scorsese. It may be because it’s more “true crime” based. It feels odd and out of place, but it will get people talking. I just wish that this pace and narrative were used throughout the whole film.
The Verdict
Killers of the Flower Moon is a shocking story that deserves to be told. It’s unfortunate that this film doesn’t tell it very well. It suffers from a lack of perspective and explanation, leaving you confused and craving context. Because of this, you feel the runtime. It had some nice cinematography, but the edits were jarring and, at times, sloppy. It’s a flat movie that’s hiding behind big names. It does have some great performances, and it does have a few good moments. However, this is not a film you must watch in theaters, And you do not have to watch this in IMAX. You may benefit more from watching it at home, where you can take some breaks and Google search some of your questions.
This is a violent and heavy film with multiple brutal scenes. Please check trigger warnings before watching.
Review: Killers of the Flower Moon
Score
Review Nation Score
Killers of the Flower Moon is a shocking story that deserves to be told. It's unfortunate that this film doesn't tell it very well. It suffers from a lack of perspective and explanation, leaving you confused and craving context. Because of this, you feel the runtime. It had some nice cinematography, but the edits were jarring and, at times, sloppy. It's a flat movie that's hiding behind big names. It does have some great performances, and it does have a few good moments. However, this is not a film you must watch in theaters, And you do not have to watch this in IMAX. You may benefit more from watching it at home, where you can take some breaks and Google search some of your questions.