Director/Cowriter Martin Scorsese adapts the best seller, Killers of the Flower Moon, the fascinating and epic chronicle of a dark chapter in American history where greed and murder went rampant in the Midwest.
In Oklahoma after World War I, Osage Indians became the wealthiest people in the world from oil on their land attracting greedy con men, swindlers, and murderers. Meanwhile, town benefactor, William Hale (Robert De Niro), orchestrates a deliberate plan to consolidate the wealth of Osage families. His nephew Ernest (Leonardo DiCaprio) falls in love with Mollie (Lily Gladstone), who is part of an Osage family that is killed one by one in an elaborate conspiracy to transfer estates to white spouses. When Mollie falls mysteriously ill, all hope seems lost until U.S. government (pre-FBI) agents appear and begin to investigate the crimes.
This story, (partly dramatized in The FBI Story from 1959), confronts issues of racism, corruption, and systematic genocide that also references the Tulsa Massacre. It fits into the gangland themes that Scorsese has explored his entire career (Goodfellas, The Departed) and features outstanding performances by DiCaprio, whose inner conflict and relationship with his wife form the crux of the story, De Niro with his best role in years as the most sinister incarnate of evil, and Gladstone who shines as the film’s centerpiece.
Epic
in scope but intimate in detail, it’s a tragic, little known period with
implications that ripple today. What
also stands out is the cinematography and attention to period costumes and set
designs, while the film remains faithfully authentic to Osage customs and
traditions. It may test audiences with its 206 minute runtime, but it holds attention
with its riveting, true story and awards caliber acting.
****1/2
of ***** stars (for DiCaprio and De Niro fans)
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