Kaleidoscope Film Review presents its latest on Paramount’s & Apple Original Films’ production of Killers of the Flower Moon.  Directed by & co-produced by Martin Scorsese, the film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert DeNiro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, Jason Isbell, Tantoo Cardinal, Scott Shepherd, John Lithgow, Brendan Fraser, Cara Jade Myers, & many more.  The film has a running time of 206 minutes & is rated ‘R’. 

It is the 1920’s, & oil is discovered in the Osage Nation in Oklahoma.  Because this oil is on tribal land, tribal members retain the mineral rights. The film begins with a flashback of numerous Osage Elders holding a ceremonial pipe, bemoaning the fact that their ancestors were being assimilated into White society. As they wander through the fields of flower moons, oil starts gushing from the ground. This causes the Osage to become, per capita, the wealthiest people in America. Although the Osage retain mineral rights & share in revenues, court appointed “guardians” manage the money of full-blood & half-blood Osage, presumably because the law deems them unable to adequately manage their own money. 

The film transitions to 1919, & a semi-literate Ernest Burkhart (DiCaprio) returns from WWI. He has decided to live with his brother Byron (Shepherd) & Uncle William King Hale (DeNiro). Hale is the so-called King of the community. He wields great power over his nephews (who he trains to become armed robbers of the Osage) & other dim-witted whites who do his bidding. He has even ingratiated himself into the Osage because he has both learned their language & donates gifts to them. Behind their backs, however, he schemes to murder & pilfer their money & oil rights. He convinces Ernest, who legitimately drives a cab, to court & woo Mollie Kyle (Gladstone) so that he can marry her & become an heir to her oil rights. After Ernest & Mollie marry, Hale seeks to convince Ernest that Ernest will inherit more oil rights if more of Mollie’s family perishes. Act I concludes thereafter. 

This is a monumental achievement by Scorsese. He & co-writer Eric Roth have presented a commanding canvas that brilliantly paints another sad chapter of our nation’s history. Scorsese’s camera, ably helmed by cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, captures a panoply of every majestic scene, every moment of intimacy, every story nuance to thoroughly explore the film’s tale of love, fidelity, avarice, & growing awareness by both the naïve Ernest & Hoover’s nascent FBI of the genocide occurring in the recent statehood of Oklahoma. Although the 3-hour & 26-minute runtime may seem an arduous journey, it most definitely is not. This is a masterful treatment of a sad chapter in our history told by a thoroughly polished storyteller. Scorsese’s & Roth’s screenplay is intelligent, encompassing a mural that effectively addresses all narrative aspects. DiCaprio, DeNiro, & Gladstone should deservedly be nominated for Best Actor, Supporting Actor, & Supporting Actress, respectively. Although DiCaprio won his first Best Actor for his wonderful performance as Hugh Glass in The Revenant, he outdoes himself in a more complex role here with a large range of emotions that are believable throughout—he is the compleat actor of his generation. DeNiro adds another powerful, believable role to his long resume. While original in every sense, one cannot help but compare him to his turn as Vito Corleone. Gladstone is a revelation as Mollie. While this critic has not seen her before, I look forward to seeing her in future roles. She perfectly captures the hopes & dreams, & subsequent dashing of her & her people’s aspirations by an unrelenting ‘thief in the night’. Plemons is appropriately stoic as BOI (forerunner of the FBI) agent White who is persistent in his seeking of the truth. Distinctively edited by Scorsese regular Thelma Schoonmaker, her cuts & transitions are, as always, seamless & spot-on. Special mention goes to the musical score composed by Robbie Robertson of ‘The Band’, a frequent Scorsese musical collaborator, who passed away this August. As the son of a mother who was of Cayuga & Mohawk heritage, Roberston has written a plaintive, authentic, loving orchestration that underscores the various scenes’ action, emotion, & conflicts.  

I give Killers of the Flower Moon 10 out of 10 nuggets!! This is a masterful culmination of artist Scorsese’s career that needs to be seen by all. It is also a reminder that misdeeds of the past continue to gnaw at the present. Head to your local cineplex asap to experience this milestone!