Tuesday, October 31, 2023
Killers of the Flower Moon
Director Martin Scorsese has crafted a marvelous film highlighting the injustices against the Osage Indians who were settled in Oklahoma by the US government. Unexpectedly, oil was discovered on their land making these native Americans nouveaux riche. Set in the 1920’s, cattleman & outsider William Hale (Robert De Niro) greedily & secretly plots gain access to these fortunes. His nephew Ernest Burkhardt (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a WWI veteran returning home. He falls in love & marries Molly (Lily Gladstone) from the Osage tribe. As more & more deaths occur among the Osage, suspicions arise & an investigation is instigated to find the culprits responsible & bring them to trial. This film is based on true events. De Niro, DiCaprio, & Gladstone are outstanding. Jesse Plemons, John Lithgow, & Brendan Fraser are among the supporting cast. Scorsese focuses on accurately depicting the Osage & their culture as well as look & feel of the times. This nearly 3½ hour film is beautifully crafted. A summary of the resulting events is uniquely told through an enactment of a typical radio broadcast that could have occurred in those days. The film’s title is a metaphor to how a certain flower is choked out of existence by another taller plant in the month of May.
Alien gives it 3½ “vision of an owl” stars out of 4.
