INT. GANGSTERS IN OKLAHOMA - DAY

Film students, film lovers, cinema-goers, and reviews rejoice! Martin Scorsese's latest film is excellent! The Irishman might have been his last 'gangster' film. Still, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, Killers of the Flower Moon might not be a gangster film, but there are many 'mob' elements within it.

The biggest fear people had going into this film was the runtime. Weeks before the release, speculations came out about the length of this film. I saw an article stating it would be 4 hours long! Alas, it's only 206 minutes long, not even coming close to the longest film here at Cannes. I can confirm that the film never drags its feet for too long; there are times when it slows down, but this is only during the film's opening hour. Thankfully it quickly picks up the pace and goes by fast once the whole ensemble is introduced. Jesse Plemons is a late bloomer in the film, only being introduced 2 hours in; as I said, this is where the film starts moving.

The story is simple: During the 1920s, oil was discovered on Osage Nation Land. Turning them into the richest people per capita in the world! Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) returns to work for his uncle, William Hale (Robert De Niro). Ernest meets Mollie (Lily Gladstone), and they marry. However, slowly many of Mollie's friends and family are murdered, with those who married into the family taking ownership of the land—eventually, the FBI steps in to investigate.

Lily and Leo have excellent on-screen chemistry, with Lily performing phenomenally. I hear talks about the Oscars for her, which is entirely valid. De Niro steals many of the scenes he's in, often providing the most laughs. He is ultimately the most 'mob-like character within the film, never pulling the trigger but commanding the troops. Jesse Plemons is the final major character within the story as Tom White. Unfortunately, Plemon's isn't that interesting; I wonder if Plemons wasn't given much direction or if he decided to make the character this way. Still, White moves from scene to scene without much interest. He's just there, leading the FBI but never being an individual; I didn't remember his name after the film; I just referred to him as 'FBI guy.'

Technically, Killers of the Flower Moon is a marvel (Not that Scorsese would like me saying the word 'Marvel'), but just like all of his films, everything is great. Nothing stands out as 'excellent'; the score, editing and cinematography are at the level you'd expect from the mind of Scorsese.

This leads me to my final thoughts on the film; recently, Martin has been talking about his age and his ability to make films like he used to. Scorsese is 80 years old and doesn't believe he has the same drive as Ridley Scott. Suppose this is to be his final film. In that case, I'd be happy knowing it's not a significant departure from what made him the famed director but a story worth telling from a creator who will continue to be studied and praised for the next many decades.

FADE OUT.

Driving Miss Burkhart

Scorsese better live till 120 to make so more 'pictures'

Killers of the Flower Moon comes from legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese and is based on a 2017 nonfiction book of the same name. It stars familiar Scorsese collaborators Leonardo DiCaprio as a dimwitted ex-military cook that falls in love with Lily Gladstone’s Mollie. There’s also Robert De Niro and Jesse Plemons to round out the most notable supporting cast.

Having read the book this is based on there is quite a bit of difference between those two versions. The Novel was non-fiction, of course, so it mostly detailed the uncovering of the murders and framed Jesse Plemons’ FBI agent Tom White as a bigger player. Additionally, Gladstone’s Mollie is really not in this film that much. Which I don’t remember being the case in the book.

At the front end center - in very typical Scorsese fashion - is the rise and fall of some sort of crime collective that pulls a scheme. Additionally, the looming threat of greedy white businessmen hungry for black gold creates all sorts of troubles for the Osage people.
As more and more of them turn up dead, often in very suspicious circumstances, there is no one actually investigating these murders.

For the majority of the film, we get to see these horrible acts of violence being committed in the most casual, pragmatic way imaginable.

There are some great supporting performances that especially shine in the comedic beats of the story - there’s actually way more of them than you’d expect. Because the dialogue is incredibly well put together and brought to life by the great talent in front of the camera.

DiCaprio gets A LOT to do here and he’s giving it his all, which sometimes felt a bit too much for his character, but I can’t go into that further without giving spoilers away. De Niro is great as a charismatic authority and Jesse Plemons is honestly not given many moments to shine by himself. There seems to be a very positive response to Lily Gladstone after the premiere here in Cannes, but I wasn’t really a fan of her performance.
There’s a Brendan Fraser cameo that is quite bad but ultimately there’s not a ton to complain about on that level.

AppleTV+ is known for its clean look and Killers of the Flower Moon is no exception here as well. The Production & Costume design is great as well paired with equally excellent editing that made this film seems shorter than it is. Which is almost 3.5 hours that, yes, you can feel but is ultimately worth the stay.

Scorsese recently said in an interview: “I’m Old. I Want to Tell Stories, But There’s No More Time” and I really hope this man gets to tell a couple more stories and make some pictures.
Because this film proves he still has got it just like he did 40 years ago.