Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

I have been meaning to write about this movie for over a year, and am finally getting down to it. I love the collaborations between Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio and ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ was the best opportunity of them all – Martin Scorsese collaborating with both in the same project.

The movie is based on a book, and focuses on a series of murders of the Osage tribe members in the 1920s. The Osage Nation was transformed post the discovery of oil, and attracted the attention of a corrupt political boss.

DiCaprio’s character is a World War 1 veteran who comes back to stay with his uncle, the corrupt political boss, played by De Niro. Aided by the brainwashing of his uncle, he then gets romantically involved with Lily Gladstone’s character (a refreshing performance and casting), gets married and then has children with her.

Gladstone’s character belongs to the Osage tribe, and one by one, members of her family are found mysteriously dead. Thelma Schoonmaker’s movie editing kept me on the edge, waiting to see what happens next. Watch the movie to see how the story unfolds, the role that Brendan Fraser plays as De Niro’s lawyer (I loved this casting too) and the references to J. Edgar Hoover’s role. As an aside, I was reminded of DiCaprio’s portrayal of J. Edgar Hoover in Clint Eastwood’s ‘J. Edgar’.

Via ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’, I got to know about some Native American customs. I also got to know about the impact and occurrence of diabetes among Native Americans. It was moving to see Gladstone’s character suffer because of the illness and her criminal husband, and heartening to see the quick recovery she makes when agents of the Bureau of Investigation help her.

I had noticed DiCaprio’s stained teeth in the movie, and recollect reading a review mentioning the same point. His handsome face acquired a different character because of this. The scene where he gets paddled is menacing, and yet again I marvelled at how Scorsese depicts violence. I also noticed Gladstone’s beautiful smile and expression in one scene (when she is driven in a motorcar), and later read that it was a spontaneous and unplanned reaction that was retained in the final cut.

I highly recommend watching this movie. The IMDB rating is now 7.6.