Killers of the Flower Moon

Killers of the Flower Moon, directed by Martin Scorsese, is a beast of a film and comes just a few minutes shy of the director's previous film, The Irishman. The latter I remember watching in early 2020 over three sittings because of its gargantuan length, and also due to me missing it in cinemas. But this time would be different as I prepared to stay seated for a full 200+ minutes for a film based on a story I knew nothing about aside from the positive buzz from critics, so I hoped it would be worth the ordeal to avoid liquid an hour before watching...

Adapted from David Grann's novel which is based on a true story, Killers of the Flower Moon is set in the early 1920s where Leonardo DiCaprio's WW1 veteran joins his powerful uncle in Oklahoma, who lives amongst and is well connected to the wealthy Osage community. The native population endured hard times as they were forced from their land but found prosperity upon the discovery of oil in their lands. With money came many poor and desperate European descendants hoping to turn a profit but then comes a number of Osage deaths which do not receive any investigations and are brushed aside by law enforcement. DiCaprio's Ernest soon becomes romantically entangled with a wealthy Osage woman and it's not long before his uncle smells opportunity to expand his fortune.

Martin Scorsese once again delivers a thoroughly engaging drama that shines a light on an interesting point in history and I found myself captivated for almost all of it. DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone and Robert De Niro top a fantastic cast in a story rich with drama and intrigue but it is oh so very long and will test even the most enthralled viewer. I feel no matter how great a film can be, the time duration can its undoing when a viewer feels the need to check their watch and realise they are just over the halfway mark. It's a shame then most cinemas don't resort back to having intermissions as it means most will likely see this at home instead of on the big screen, which Scorsese has always campaigned for, as I know I had a better experience watching this there than I would have done at home as I did with The Irishman. 

But if you can prepare yourself for over three hours in a dark room, Killers of the Flower Moon is worth it. This is the kind of mature, dark story which doesn't always enjoy the theatrical release so I am glad we still have filmmakers like Scorsese still hard at work. But would I say it's perfect? I did find Ernest lacking some characterisation as he commits some terrible acts while keeping this secret to his wife and I would have expected to have seen the character grapple with his actions before the climax. Instead, the perspective moves around a little too freely while leaving our supposed lead with a few question marks over his idea of morality so I felt I never quite grasped who he was. Maybe a second viewing is needed but that will require a few breaks next time! 

All in all, Killers of the Flower Moon will rank among the director's best work to date and also offers one of De Niro's best performances alongside that. Scorsese does not hold back and proves, while at the age of over 80 now, he has plenty more stories to tell and with great confidence in his vision. The story is dark and not for everyone but anyone who has enjoyed his work so far would be remiss to not buckle-up and see this, as it was meant to be seen, on the biggest screen possible.