The Sense of Dread in Killers of the Flower Moon
I can't say it was an easy film to watch, perhaps due to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza, or, to be more precise, the genocide taking place there. Maybe that's why this movie resonated and honestly filled me with dread about the state of humanity at the moment. Dread was the overarching feeling I had.
The story of colonist spreading across American land and violently overtaking Native American societies is embedded in our history. So watching this story during a real-life genocidal tragedy happening in the Middle East really had an impact on my viewing experience.
Having said all this, here’s my initial review of Martin Scorsese’s newest addition to his long list of classic films, “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
[SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT]
Infographic added 12/1/2023
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Updated 12/1/2023 - I'll start by saying that this was a powerful film, probably my second favorite movie of the year, following "Past Lives." I can't say it was an easy film to watch, perhaps due to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza, or, to be more precise, the genocide taking place there.
Maybe that's why this movie resonated and honestly filled me with dread about the state of humanity at the moment. Dread was the overarching feeling I had.
It was a good, probably great film, a true tale about the attempted hijacking of the wealth of the Osage Nation. The story revolves around their power and resources, and we see how the American settlers really have not much regard for Osage culture or even the value of their lives.
It's a true story that reveals how greed and heinous acts, embodied by Robert De Niro's character, William "King" Hale, and the reckless, boy-like white settler characters who come and corrupt the Osage land, leading to the murder of countless Osage people.
It mirrors the story of many of the world's superpowers, with the United States of America being one of the largest culprits of this settler-conqueror mindset. This is evident in their funding of the genocide in Palestine that is currently unfolding before my eyes in the year 2023.
I couldn't help but contemplate the darkness that can unknowingly fester in people in the form of greed, laziness, and lack of empathy, and how prevalent it is.
It emphasizes the need for a collective effort to combat this malevolence on a grand scale among societies, but also at the familial level - how we teach our kids and the attention we place on instilling moral compasses.
So when I say, "The film wasn't an easy watch for me," this is why. It was the contemplation of the long history of greed leading to the death and destruction of the innocent. And maybe, I mean most certainly, this was part of the point of the movie.
By no means was this a bad movie; it operated at the highest level.
The story was tragic yet fascinating, shedding light on a dark chapter of American history that many would rather forget.
I’ve heard (although I don’t read or listen to any reviews until after I’ve finished my own review, but I’ve seen the headlines and critiques) that the movie showcases the white perspective. I do think that this is a fair point about the movie, but I don’t think that it hurts or diminishes the value, validity, or quality of the tale Martin Scorsese is telling.
My thought here is that yes, the movie is mainly focused and through the perspective of Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, Ernest Burkhart. This is the choice made by the filmmakers.
Related: Trailers of the Week: Killers of the Flower Moon, and More…
Would I have loved to see the story more heavily through the eyes of the breakout and, in my opinion, best character in the movie, Lily Gladstone’s portrayal of Mollie Burkhart? The answer is yes.
I think it would have added more humanity to the tale. However, that is simply not the reality we live in.
In reality, this tale is shown through the eyes of [spoiler] who I perceive as one of the many villains of the movie - Leo’s character.
Just as many of Scorsese's movies do- "Goodfellas," "Wolf of Wall Street," and "Casino." These are not movies about good people. Often, the bad people are more fitting for character studies like the ones that Scorsese creates because their choices and qualities are much harder to understand. It makes for an interesting study of their minds and decisions.
So, the fact that this movie is through the perspective of the white character is a valid note about the movie, but it does not inherently make the movie bad.
If this film didn’t showcase true Osage plight, and also their cultural beauty, or if it dehumanized them by not showing their complexity and perspectives, then that would be more cause for concern regarding the white perspective. But again, this is not the case.
The Osage people were shown in their entirety, and the movie managed to capture the profound dread that the Osage people must have felt during those times. When I compare it to another great film about American atrocities, “Django Unchained,” I feel like there was less focus on the violence and shocking horror of the American sin, and more focus on the perpetuating, again I'll use the word, dread, that permeates people as atrocities like this occur.
This is not to knock “Django Unchained,” it is just a comparison of two great films. The story told in "Django" called for the depiction of intense, more immediate violence, and "Killers" called for quiet, depressing, and dark depiction, even in the flashes of violence that it shows. They are fast and usually quiet in the dark. In Django, the loud and shocking depictions made me feel something entirely different than the feeling I had in “Killers.”
Watching this movie evoked a new feeling within me, prompting me to explore uncharted territory in my own psyche, something that trailblazing films comparable to "Killers," like "Django Unchained," had not yet guided me toward.
Even when the FBI characters intervene to help the Osage people, it doesn't bring a sense of hope because it seemed like they were only pursuing the truth for their own gain. It was a story filled with greed and deception, which, while dark, commendably exposed a harsh reality about America's past.
I think this will go down as one of Scorsese's best works, one of De Niro’s great performances, one of Leo’s most subtle depictions, and Lily Gladstone’s triumph.
Overall, I rate this film 9.3/10
I recently included the teaser trailer in a “trailers of the week” article that I wrote. I have to say that this definitely lived up to the hype I felt from the trailer. This trailer in specific, the teaser trailer that uses the quote, “so many hungry wolves” still might be one of the best trailers I’ve ever seen. Something about it is badass to me:
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