NOW IN THEATERS! Moving his way from Netflix to Apple, Martin Scorsese is back with yet another three-and-a-half-hour epic. Based on the novel by Dad Grann, Killers of the Flower Moon recounts the story of the systematic murders of the Osage Indigenous peoples during the 1930s.
We open in Osage County, Oklahoma. After discovering oil on the Osage reservations, the native Americans found themselves rich…like filthy rich. So rich, they hired the white man to handle menial roles, and the white man, in turn, married the Osage women as a way to inherit their lands.
This particular day marks the arrival of Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio), who had just returned from duty in World War I and was seeking employment with his uncle William Hale (Robert De Niro) alongside his brother Byron (Scott Shepherd). Quickly, the power dynamic is established as William insists on Ernest calling him “King” as he did in the past and as others do in the present.
“…become an essential ally to the Osage tribe, but really, his goal is to take the land from the Osage through marriage…”
King owns a cattle ranch and has become an essential ally to the Osage tribe, but really, his goal is to take the land from the Osage through marriage… mainly through nephew Ernest. Ironically, Ernest begins making a living as a cab driver. One client, Mollie (Lily Gladstone) who, along with her sisters, stands to make a fortune by inheriting the oil-rich land from her mother, Lizzie (Tantoo Cardinal). Quickly, Earnest makes his move on Mollie, and the two get married. The hitch here is that Ernest actually loves Mollie.
One by one, Mollie’s sisters wind up dead. In fact, many members of the Osage wind up dead. She and Ernest will inherit everything once Mollie’s last sister is gone. Much to the delight of William, as the land will become part of his estate…through Ernest.
Like many stories from the United States sordid past, Killers of the Flower Moon tells the true story of the Osage people. Not just of their murders but of the Osage plea to the President to actually investigate these murders. The murders themselves were non-descript at times. There was no Godfather-like massacre, but the killings were subtle, whether they were executions in the middle of nowhere or the slow poisoning of the white man’s native wives. Like many tragedies, Killers of the Flower Moon serves as a moving history of what happened in hopes that it will never happen again.
