I read Rich’s scathing review of Killers of the Flower Moon — the new Scorsese film about the Osage Indian murders — with great interest. As I mentioned on Friday’s episode of The Editors, my dad had a different opinion. After seeing Killers, he said it was a “magnificent” film with “great storytelling, superb acting, and an exploration of good and evil, faith, family and marriage.”
I can now confirm that Rich is wrong and my dad is right. Rich’s description of the film is so unrecognizable that I’m wondering whether we saw the same movie. Seriously. What’s not to like? Okay, the movie is long. But to tell a story like this quickly would be to tell it badly. It is neither “plodding” nor “grim.” It is gripping and presents the fight of good versus evil realistically without being despairing.
Rich says, “The Coen brothers would have done it better.” Maybe so. But Killers actually reminded me of the Coen brothers’ dark classic, Fargo, both in its slick dialogue and in how it contrasted the villains’ shallowness against the depths of their depravity.
For those curious about the plot (don’t worry, I won’t include any spoilers): Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) returns from the First World War cynical and listless. He goes to live with his brother, Byron (Scott Shepherd), and uncle, William “King” Hale (Robert De Niro), who are living in the Osage territory in Oklahoma, and eager to get their hands on oil money produced on tribal land.
Hale has ingratiated himself with the Native American community and has hatched a murderous plot to steal their wealth. It involves Ernest’s marrying Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone), whose family owns oil headrights, then killing off her family. The villains run into trouble after attracting the attention of the FBI.
The tale isn’t simply that of wicked people doing wicked things, though there is plenty of that. It’s complicated in that Ernest genuinely falls in love with Mollie and really does care for her and their children. The movie centers on Ernest’s internal struggle between his love for his wife and his attachment to sin. Scorsese has you guessing until the very end which one he will ultimately choose.