Casual murders and a heartbreaking portrayal of men’s greed is the best way to describe Martin Scorsese’s Killers of The Flower Moon. Thanks to Apple TV and a desire to watch the best picture nominees for the 2023 Academy Awards, Nora and I had to break the film into two sittings due to the length. Killers of The Flower Moon is 3 hours and 26 minutes long and for the majority of the time, there is a sense of dread throughout the whole film. Its a depressing story with beautiful production, costumes, and unforgettable performances.

Killers of the Flower Moon, Apple, Paramount Pictures

Martin Scorsese and Eric Roth’s script adapted the novel of the same name by David Grann. I have not read the novel, but if Scorsese and Roth’s script is any indication of the novel it would be a difficult read, as this script wears down the viewer. Seeing Mollie (played by Lily Gladstone) go from full of life to a woman that is poisoned by men’s greed is upsetting but is expertly done by a filmmaker of Scorsese’s caliber.

David Grann, Doubleday

I’m starting to think that films that take place in the 1920s about oil have a place in my heart. There Will Be Blood has been among my favorite films for years and with a familiar setting, Killers of The Flower Moon works for me. The setting of Osage County and Osage Nation adds an element to the film that allows a modern film to explore the relationship between Americans and indigenous people.

What makes Killers of The Flower Moon effective is how it can be so enormous in length, themes, and production and in turn, how the performances of the main three characters stand out. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Ernest Burkhart, probably the least likable and weak character he has ever played. This is not saying that DiCaprio is bad in the movie, you just really hate the character, and his performance allows these emotions to be felt as Ernest comes off greedy throughout the whole film. Ernest does not do anything in this story without being influenced by others. As Ernest shares the majority of the screen with Lily Gladstone’s Mollie Kyle and Robert De Niro’s William King Hale, the character simply can not stand on his own.

Robert De Niro delivers his best performances in recent memory as King. It’s the complete opposite of DiCaprio’s performance, De Niro is in command of every scene, while King is the uncle to DiCaprio’s Ernest and the “King of Osage County” to townsfolk. King presents himself as a friend to the Osage, while behind their backs is setting up ways to inherit the head-rights to the oil that the Osage claimed. De Niro’s performance feels inspired by charismatic politicians that are inspired by personal gain. One scene in particular that I absolutely love is when the character is placed in a position with law enforcement and King mocks the situation. As strong as his performance is, it’s not the strongest in this film; Lily Gladstone stands out in an ensemble cast.

Going into Killers of The Flower Moon, I thought for sure that Emma Stone gave the best performance of the year in Poor Things, but Lily Gladstone made me reconsider that thought with their performance as Mollie. Gladstone’s portrayal of Mollie is grim and heartbreaking. In a three hour film, she experiences so many tragedies, reminiscent of a Shakespearean play. Despite Mollie being dealt a terrible hand: having diabetes and seeing the murders of the Osage Nation, Gladstone could have given a performance that was filled with screaming and yelling. Instead, their performance is filled with reservation and sadness. When Mollie has the moment to shine, Gladstone acts through facial expressions versus spoken dialogue, which shows their absolute heartbreak in a more raw form.

I loved this film and it is amongst the best of 2023. However, if there were a few things to criticize, it would be the length of the film and how the story is wrapped up. This film could have been cut down to 3 hours or even a crisp 2 hours and 40 minutes. That being said, I am unsure what would be cut except maybe a different way of ending the film. An out of place thing that Scorsese and the casting director make is the casting of musicians in this film: Jason Isbell, Jack White, Sturgill Simpson and Randy Houser all have roles in this film and it is done so effectively that only Jack White’s casting was noticeable. And as a comic focused YouTube channel and blog, it would have been beneficial to see this before Marvel’s Echo, as every time Tantoo Cardinal was on screen, I kept saying to myself “Damn, she was so good in Echo!”

Brendan Fraser, John Lithgow and Jesse Plemons round out this cast in roles that played major parts in the story, but felt like roles that could have been fleshed out more. Plemons is fantastic as always, but Fraser and Lithgow’s characters are on screen for a very limited amount of time that by the end of the film, I had forgotten they were in the film.

Overall, the film is marvelous as it shines with filmmaking bliss from a great production design, cinematography that is absolutely stunning, and a director that continues to prove he is amongst the greatest. Performances from the leads are amazing and the story will have you heartbroken by the end. As we are thinking about our favorite films of the year, Killers of the Flower Moon may be one of the best films made but hard to call it a favorite with the likes of Poor Things, Past Lives, Spider-Man Into The Spider-Verse, Barbie and Oppenheimer.

Rating 5 out of 5