Killers of the Flower Moon review: Plain story, incredible performances and Scorcese's mastery

Martin Scorsese's 'Killers of the Flower Moon' retells the story of the bigotry against and the murders of Osage folks in the USA for their oil reservoirs and wealth. 

In the era of 20-second Reels, a 3-hour movie might sound tough to sit through. However, it is a delight when a movie builds tension at an excruciatingly slow pace, making you impatiently wait for the hell about to be unleashed. 'Killers of the Flower Moon' does exactly that! Based on real-life events, the film revolves around the murders of the Osage people in the USA. Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio), a sheepish and indecisive man, returns from World War I to his uncle William King Hale (Robert De Niro), who lives along with the Osages in the Oklahoma reservation. Hale is the tribe's favourite. He is charitable and a self-proclaimed friend to everyone. However, it is all a pretence. Soon, Ernest falls in love and marries Mollie Kyle, an Osage whose family owns oil headrights. In order to inherit the Osage wealth, Hale convinces and almost bullies Ernest, and his brother Byron to get Mollie’s kin killed one by one. And so begins the slow burn that eventually culminates into what is history today. 

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While the script sounds very dramatic, it is rather plain actually. There are perhaps no spoilers and a lot is predictable. What makes the movie interesting to watch are the incredible performances of the lead actors. Sinister shows in De Niro’s eyes but never in his demeanour, not even in the character’s weakest moments. You know what he is up to, but you can never read him. DiCaprio aces the portrayal of the most fascinating character in the film - a man who would like to believe he is consequential and in control but is just a pawn. He wants to believe that he is a good man, but in reality, he is just spineless. Gladstone gives the most moving performance in the film. Her face and voice convey that her entire being is aching with emotional pain. I waited for that pain and anger to come out verbally, but it never happened. Her potential, thus, went underutilized.

Another aspect of the film that deserves credit for thickening the plot with tension is the background score. First, it fills you with dread, assimilates in the background well enough to go unnoticed, goes quiet, and then it returns, filling you with dread all over again. Right from the production design to the costumes to the dialogues, all the film's elements are impressive, but the sound and cinematography stand out. And how can they not? A Martin Scorcese movie is always a treat to the eyes! The intimate and vulnerable shots of Gladstone are especially artistic and emotive.

However, I will still disagree that this is Scorsese or DiCaprio’s best work as many are claiming. It is not. We have seen better stories and better performances by them. Killers of the Flower Moon is a painful story told plainly about the USA’s inhuman treatment of Indians. It is the execution that makes it an intriguing watch. 

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