Killers of The Flower Moon, a drama/crime film directed by Martin Scorsese, follows the true story of the Osage, a native American tribe in Osage County, Oklahoma. After oil was discovered on their land, they became the richest nation on earth by the 1920’s. Amassing a yearly wealth of 400 million dollars in modern currency, mysterious murders provoked by greed began in the county. Starring Robert DeNiro, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Lily Gladstone, this film is a somber, seamless, historical recounting.
Released on Oct. 20, this independent film with a budget of 200 million USD, and a runtime of 3 hours and 28 minutes, was made to bring light to this overlooked event in US history. Most of the information for the film was provided by the non-fiction book, Killers of The Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, by David Grann.
Many wealthy Osage were reported to be killed from 1918 to 1931. However, the bulk of the crimes happened from 1921 to 1926, when the film takes place in the town of Gray Horse. This raised questions, led to investigations, and eventually contributed to the arrest of the men behind the crimes. This case was the first case that pushed the establishment of the FBI.
Please be aware that this film is Rated R. It contains the following mature themes: violence and profanity. It is recommended for seniors 18+, or students whose parents allow them to watch R-rated movies. This article will contain spoilers and commentary on the film so read at your own risk!
Leonardo DiCaprio portrays Ernest Burkhart, a dense, World War I veteran, who returns to his Uncle, William Hale (Robert DeNiro), a wealthy rancher who contributed to the foundation of the town and earned himself the nickname “King” from the townspeople and clan leaders. In this town, interracial relationships are common between the Osage and the other townspeople despite being in 1920s America. With a push from his uncle to earn more wealth through marriage, Ernest pursues a young Osage woman, Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone), and eventually marries her.
Though Hale is respected in the town and is even considered family by many of the Osage, he is the mastermind behind the crimes committed against them. Unbeknownst to Ernest, Hale’s main target was the Kyle family, because they had the most head rights. Hale would convince the white townspeople to marry the Osage, cause their demise, and collect inheritance money, just to remarry another Osage, and repeat the cycle. This was to gain a claim on the Osage’s wealth, as many of the townspeople, including Hale, were not a part of the Osage tribe.
I think that the film was extremely somber and enlightening but the story resonated with me because I had never heard of this incident. The things people can do because of greed are shocking. One thing I liked about DiCaprio’s portrayal of Ernest was his face acting. He was able to keep this expression of complete dull-wittedness, and his mouth was downturned for the entirety of the film. However, viewers will have a hard time figuring out where they stand when it comes to Ernest’s intentions.
Throughout what seemed to be a loving marriage with Mollie, he was a part of conspirators that led to the demise of her sisters Rita, Anna, and Minnie, and her elderly mother, Lizzie Q. At the beginning of his relationship with his wife, he didn’t realize what his uncle was manipulating him to do. Mollie, eventually realizing that someone was out for her family, hired a private investigator, and became extremely paranoid for her life. Mollie also had diabetes so her paranoia was magnified because she was sick. The thing about this was that the non-Osage spouse half of the town’s population were all in cahoots and unfortunately got rid of her investigator.
The portrayal of how evil and selfish forces can band together was so interesting to see on screen. All of the Osage were benighted and manipulated by the people they thought were their friends, and by the people they had created families with. After all of her immediate family had passed, Mollie was distraught, but she had her loving husband Ernest, and their two children.
The section of the movie that came after the deaths of Mollie’s siblings and mother was one of the most conflicting parts of the movie for me. Insulin becomes available but is so expensive only five people in the world can afford it, and Mollie is one of them. She begins her treatments, only letting Ernest administer the shot because the only person she trusts is her husband. Feeling better with her medication, Mollie travels to Washington to get official help to solve the crimes of her family’s untimely deaths. A guilty Hale, trying to protect the nature of his crimes, gives Ernest vials to put in Mollie’s insulin to “slow her down”, convincing his submissive nephew that this was for the betterment of her health, though it was slowly poisoning her.
Throughout the film, Ernest shows so much affection for Mollie, yet does these unspeakable things to her family. The question that sparked in my mind was: did he love her? Regarding insulin, he didn’t know it was poisoning her, but there was no way he didn’t see his uncle’s plan to get rid of her after involving him in the crimes against her family.
Ernest is also the same man who hired someone to blow up her sister’s house. Ernest mentions that he “loves money almost as much as he loves his wife,” and this comment confused me as to where he stood with Mollie. It was a very conflicting situation because he constantly protected and consoled her in her times of grief and sickness, yet he was still poisoning her and hurting her family.
An aspect that I enjoyed about the film was the inclusion of real Osage people. A majority of the many Osage in the film aren’t actors at all. They are real people whose history is being told in the movie. A lot of the scenes where the characters are banded together and talking about their people are improv scenes. Scorsese mentioned that he just kept filming, and these men and women just told the stories about their ancestors and the history of the land. He kept these clips in for authenticity because that’s what the movie is supposed to be about.
All in all, I did enjoy watching this film. For the entire three hours, I never moved. I appreciate storytelling, as an avid lover of theater and cinematic arts. This movie was made in such an authentic way, I went home and researched more about the Osage people, after the film just told me all about them. It’s one of those movies that genuinely sits with you, and in a historical aspect, I feel it portrayed the timeline perfectly. Killers of The Flower Moon can be viewed in theaters, and will soon be available for streaming on Apple TV+.
