Killers of the Flower Moon
This is a true story and I recommend searching Wikipedia as
background. This is a harsh and brutal story. The Osage Indians are murdered and victimized by white residents
jealous of their wealth from oil revenue.
This story does not have the full weight oi history it deserves. It took place in
Fairfax Oklahoma a few years before the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1923. Both incidents
involved white animus against minorities of wealth.
The first half of the movie is slow. Character relationships
are established and a number of murders are committed without being
investigated. Some scenes are graphic and gruesome. In the latter half of the
film, after about an hour and a half, it becomes more interesting when the Bureau
of Investigation (forerunners of the FBI) come to investigate the murders.
Jesse Plemons is the lead investigator. He is laconic and unflappable.
Leo Di Caprio plays against type. His character Ernest
Burkhart is a spineless weasel manipulated by his uncle William King Hale
played by Robert Di Nero. Di Caparo’s character is complex. He freely commits
crimes against the Osage but he has genuine
affection for his wife and children. He says more than once in the film, he loves
money. Whatever soul he had; he sacrifices it for greed.
For most of the movie Di Nero looked like he is sucking on a
lemon. He has a sour puss looking down from rounded rimmed glasses. Di Nero has
played tough guy roles so playing King Hale was not a stretch. He was duplicitous
pretending to be a benefactor while
masterminding murders to attain wealth.
Lily Gladstone is Mollie Burkhart, Ernest’s wife. Her facial
expression for most of the film was consistent. Her emotional highs and lows
were narrow. She shows more range when she gets sick. The film features native Indians
as actors.
Rotten Tomatoes gave the film 92%, so please do not be dissuaded
by this review. This film is a bladder buster at more than three and half hours
so sit next to the aisle.
The film cost about $250m with advertising. It has to clear
$500m to break even. In the first weekend it made $30m. Apple produced the film
so it should be streaming on Apple + at some point.
