by Ben Schoenberg ’24

In the early 1920s the Osage Native American tribe were the richest people per capita in the entire world as a result of finding oil on the land they were forcibly placed in by the U.S. government. This fortune turned to tragedy and throughout the next decade more than 100 Osage people were murdered for their oil money through a conspiracy carried out by jealous white townsfolk. In Killers of the Flower Moon, based off of the novel by David Grann, director Martin Scorsese masterfully depicts the true story of the horrific atrocities that occurred in Osage County, Oklahoma.

For this film Scorsese decided to focus on telling the intimate and disturbing story of Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo Dicaprio) and his relationship with his wife Mollie Burkhart (Lily Gladstone), opening with Ernest arriving back in Oklahoma following the first World War. From then on, Ernest is manipulated by his uncle William Hale (Robert De Niro) into plotting and committing the murder of rich Osage, including Mollie’s own family.

Combining elements of both love and betrayal, Killers of the Flower Moon simultaneously is a story about America as whole and the despicable violence perpetrated against Native Americans. Many of Scorsese’s films focus on the corrupting nature of greed and violence but with Killers of the Flower Moon, he gives a much deeper look into how it personally affects the people that fall victim to those atrocities. The heartbreaking emotional toll the murders have on Mollie and her people following the graphic slaughter of her family and other Osage serve as an informative look into how the United States has gotten away with its ethnic cleansing of indigenous people for centuries.

The film’s star studded cast helps engross the audience in the disturbing and unsettling story. Dicaprio and De Niro once again give phenomenal performances that send chills down the audience’s spines due to how casually evil they can be. But the standout performance of the whole movie is Gladstone as Mollie. She is able to perfectly encapsulate the grief and swirling emotions that are felt throughout the film just through her facial expressions alone and owns every scene she’s in.

Now entering his 80s, Scorsese continues to prove why he is a master at his craft and applies the same level of care and heart into his films that he has his whole career, but now with an added maturity and even greater understanding of the art form. Scorsese films Killers of the Flower Moon with next-level cinematography that coincides perfectly with his longtime collaborator, Thelma Schoonmaker’s, precise editing that is able to highlight the brutality of the stomach churning murders being shown and give intimate moments their needed emotional value.

While the nearly three and a half hour long run time may seem off putting to more casual moviegoers, the film’s length serves its purpose to have viewers feel the excruciating time between the tragic murders and when justice might be brought to the perpetrators. As a whole, Killers of the Flower Moon is a triumph in filmmaking that educates Americans on its dark history while also providing another Scorsese masterpiece of filmmaking.

Grade: A+