THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Crime and prejudice go hand in hand because it can be our own personal beliefs that’ll make us commit the unholy.
PLOT
Based on the novel by David Grann, Killers of the Flower Moon takes place in 1920s Oklahoma where the Osage Nation have gained wealth through finding oil. Sadly, many would be murdered for their wealth by white court appointed legal guardians. The story starts in 1919 and follows Ernest Burkhart returning from WWI to live with his brother Byron (Scott Shepherd) and uncle William King Hale, a deputy sheriff/cattle rancher who poses friendly to the Osage but is the ringleader of recent murders. King suggests his nephew to court Molly Kyle whose family whose family owns family head rights. The relationship would naturally blossom when he meets her via his day job as cab driver. Eventually, they would have three children together (Elizabeth, James & Anna) but the blended relationship does not stop the killings. With Molly being diabetic and her elderly mother Lizzie (Tantoo Cardinal) being terminally ill, King anticipates Ernest to gain more headlights when they die. They soon come around when Mollie’s sister Minnie (Jillian Dion) dies of ann illness of her own and the rebellious other named Anna (Cara Jade Myers) is murdered by Byron and Kelsie Morrison (Louis Cancelmi). With the murders piling up on the reservation, and with the ‘21 Tulsa massacre, the Osage vow to fight back and protect their home from the whites. After Lizzie passes away of natural causes, King would assign Ernest to assassinate Mollie’s first husband Henry Roan (William Belleau). But when it’s botched and doesn’t appear as an accident, he brutally paddles his nephew as punishment. With King having enough local power to keep judges and sheriffs in his pocket, no investigations get made. Ernest assures this when he and Byron assault a private detective hired by Mollie, named William J Burns (Gary Basaraba), running him off of the reservation. After this, Ernest would then hire criminal Acie Kirby (Pete Yorn) to assassinate Mollie’s remaining sister Reta (Janae Collins) by blowing up her home, making his wife the sole inheritor of the head rights. Determined to achieve justice for the Osage, Mollie would travel to Washington DC to reach out to US President Calvin Coolidge for help. Due to her defiance, King instructs Ernest to poison her insulin with heroin, which slowly kill her. He is supplied the poison by local doctors, the Shoun brothers. Out of shame, he would drink the poison from time to time. Around this point, the Bureau of Investigation sends Agent Thomas Bruce White Sr. and a handful of associates to find the truth and they do so very quickly. Ernest tries to cover his tracks by killing his own hitmen, but he and his uncle are arrested before that could happen. After arrests are made, White saves Mollie and gives her proper medical care to cure her from the poison. At the beginning of the trial, White persuades Ernest to confess and turn state evidence against his uncle. That plan would quickly change when King’s attorney WS Hamilton tries to convince him to claim he was tortured and recant. Ernest would however go forward with going against his uncle when his daughter dies of whooping cough. In one of his last encounters Mollie, she would officially leave him after testifying due to refusing to poisoning her. The film would end in an epilogue in the form of a radio drama, revealing the aftermath of the trial: the Shoun brothers were never prosecuted due to lack of evidence and Byron was released after a hung jury. Hale was convicted a life sentence in ‘29, was released in ‘47, and still visited Oklahoma until passing in ‘62 at the age of 87. Ernest had his own life sentence in ‘26 but was pardoned in ‘37, living in a trailer park with Byron until passing in ‘86 at the age of 94. His brother would pass before him in ‘85 at age 86. Mollie divorced Ernest in ‘26, would marry John Cobb in ‘28 and would die from diabetes in ‘37 at the age of 50. She would buried next to her relatives who died before her. Her obituary did not mention the Osage murders.
THOUGHTS
Martin Scorsese has always lived up to be one of the greatest directors around because each project he gets his hands on is a bold story. It's no exception here because he had us captivated once again with something that had to be told. I am not a massive historian, but I do remember what I learned in high school about the said subject. Which is why I was shook how this was glossed over in my generation. Of course, the Osage murder case is not a pleasant history lesson but neither was the holocaust. Getting through this 3.5 hr feature was a reminder on how dark of a past the United States visibly has. There are still problems, but I can't be wrong when saying they're not as bad as this. There is no way you can get away with murder over oil, which is what makes the case so shocking. And adding the reference of Tulsa in between was a reflection to how people are always going to be mistreated for being different no matter how hard we wish for peace and spread diversity. The production design by Jack Fisk was an impressive feat of recreating the 1920s Oklahoma setting. And Jacqueline West's costume design really set us in a time warp whenever we would see people wear accurate clothing from the said period. Now when you add the cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto and the last epic score by the late Robbie Robertson, the stars are align on what was indeed a captivating era. What makes the whole story work is expressing the illusion that things can be erased if we ignore it because justice won't always be completely fulfilled. The truth can be buried and people will only listen to half of it. The epilogue where the radio drama shares the fallout reflects how when we get the whole truth, there isn't guaranteed satisfaction. This message would've not been so loud had it not been for such an impressive ensemble. Like any veteran, Robert DeNiro is going to find many roles to surprise us. Whether the role or the performance is good or bad, you're gonna talk about it forever. In my eyes, DeNiro hardly misses and he delivers once again in one of his most villainous roles ever. The role of William King Hale is not as simple when it comes to describing evil. The man was completely two-faced in the life he lived. He used everyone he knew he could use and it made him the most powerful figure in Oklahoma. It felt unlimited for a long time until it wasn't. He suckered up the Osage in malevolent fashion because that is how much he loved money and he did it for so long because he was that proud with success. His goal is to take everything that isn't his because he thinks he'll get it anyway when that isn't really true. What gets scarier about him is how persuasive he was able to be. When you think about Brendan Fraser as WS Hamilton, he was so loyal to his case because he enjoyed the money too. He's in on the selfishness and he is able to bend the words as much as he can towards anyone he needs to. That just comes to show how easy a soul can be corrupted for material. You already hate Hale for not having any shame with every cent he steals, but when he orders who to kill and how to kill for it, such as having a house explode, you know he is a mad king. We want to call it a miracle his actions had stopped, but it didn't undo the damage which is why there is no joy to feel when the trial goes on. If there is one thing to prove about family, it is how not everyone will truly think the same and it felt such whenever we saw things shift towards Ernest. Reuniting with Scorsese for the first time since The Wolf of Wall Street, Leonardo DiCaprio predictably provides another incredible performance to talk about. The actor has played a handful of antagonists, but you sense so much conflict within Ernest every time. He was described to be clever, yet was very clumsy from time to time. He had respect for his uncle, to the point where he accepted a paddle beating, but he always knew what he was doing for him was wrong, the biggest difference given from here to real life. Even though he was never a WWI veteran in real life, it did seem what he wanted the most was inner peace and was hoping to achieve it thanks to his uncle. Little would he understand he was opening a whole other can of problems that wouldn't be undone. He always felt like he loved his family, which only made it hard for him to also cause their downfall on both sides. It doesn't feel false when seeing the love he gave towards Mollie, but it didn't change he was wrong for what he was doing to her. He wants to believe he loves her for herself but still loved the money as well like his uncle would. He had his breaking point when it came to his daughter's death because he wanted the pain to go away once and for all, hence caving his decision to do the right thing. The big irony of this man's arc is that he died with nothing. Considering there were so many bad people surrounding Oklahoma, it can be hard to imagine there would be any good left. That's where you sense relief when seeing an embodiment of courageousness when we see Mollie. Lily Gladstone dominates the screen at every given chance because she shows us that she was smarter than a lot of people thought, even though it took a long time for her to figure out the truth. It's no secret she's the true tragic figure of the story because we see her firsthand taken advantage of and lose everyone she cares about all because she thought she was in love with one mistaken to be kind. She did love Ernest for believing he made her safe until knowing he never did. It made their goodbye poetic because it made her content with the truth and gave her a much clear conscience for the first time in a long time. We admire Mollie overall because she had the will to speak up when others were struggling to and that is something to immortally respect. She never wrote of the murders in her obituary because she knew that isn't what defined her, but only the pleasantness she was able to give to people who deserved it. Thanks to her, it was a relief someone answered the call to end the terror in Oklahoma. Jesse Plemons made the best of it as Agent White because he had the right set of cards on him to get the job done. He was able to be ahead of the curve when the enemy could have never expected it. He defined perception because he did a great job at reading others and knowing exactly who was guilty before a juror was ever able to decide. With smart men, it's fair reason for the BOI to become the FBI. Another character I appreciated was Prosecutor Peter Leaward. The whole time, I was impressed with John Lithgow making him just as smart as White for seeing right through people the way he did with Hamilton. While an impressive achievement for the FBI, you just still wish there was true closure for the Osage to get their money back. As of 2024, it is quite the miracle to see progress with some willing to give back. In short, Killers of the Flower Moon is a breathtaking crime drama for showing a crucial time period in order to keep history alive. If you're a historian and want to be reminded of dark roots, see this now.
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