Martin Scorsese has done it again! This time with his new film “Killers of the Flower Moon’’ based on the best-selling 2017 book by journalist David Grann.
The film has plenty of star power in its cast with big names including Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone and more.
The movie takes place in 1920 Okalhoma and is a true story that revolves around murders that take place in the native tribe Osage Nation. When oil is found in the Osage land, the tribe becomes wealthy and with the drive for wealth comes greed and issues. This quickly gets the FBI involved.
Wandering through the badlands of their Oklahoma reservation, several Osage find oil spraying from the ground. The tribe becomes wealthy after they find more oil on their lands, but the reservation laws say that the “White guardians’’ have to manage their money.
This is when Ernest Burkhart returns from World War l to his uncle William Hale (De Niro), who lives with Ernest’s brother Byron on the reservation. Hale poses as a friend to the Osage people, speaking their language to connect and giving them gifts; however, he has evil intentions in mind. He secretly schemes to murder and steal their newly found money. He informs Ernest about his plan while Ernest tries to sweep Mollie Kyle off her feet. A romance occurs between Ernest and Mollie, and they are married, which mixes Catholic and Osage religious and causes issues.
De Niro plays the antagonist William Hale and does a great job. He seems in so many ways unassuming but there is an utter darkness to the character, and he gives a new look to a movie villain. DiCaprio plays Ernest Burkhart, a World War I veteran who is in a relationship with Molly Kyle and is the nephew to De Niro’s character. And Lily Gladstone plays Molly Kyle, an Osage whose family owns much of the oil and has become wealthy.
The movie is based off of the once best-selling novel by David Grann. Scorsese makes the movie come to life. The movie has a 92% score on Rotten Tomatoes just three days after coming out , setting the stage for maybe another instant classic from Scorsese.
Overall, this is one of the better movies that I have seen in a while. It kept me in my chair for the whole film. There is constant excitement. “Killers of the Flower Moon” is a great movie for older people, however the violence can be intimidating for younger viewers.
Scorsese has shown that he is still producing great movies with star-studded casts and does not plan on slowing down.
