Killers of the Flower Moon is a 2023 historical drama film directed by Martin Scorsese, from a screenplay by Scorsese and Eric Roth. The film is based on author David Grann’s best-selling book of the same name, which chronicles the unlikely powderkeg romance of Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone).

At the turn of the 20th century, oil brought a fortune to the Osage Nation, who became some of the richest people in the world overnight. The wealth of these Native Americans immediately attracted white interlopers, who manipulated, extorted, and stole as much Osage money as they could before resorting to murder.

The cast includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, Tantoo Cardinal, Cara Jade Myers, JaNae Collins, and Jillian Dion.

Killers of the Flower Moon made its debut in theaters on October 20th, courtesy of Apple Studios.

THE GOOD

When Killers of the Flower Moon was first announced I was pumped, to say the least. First, I will see literally anything Martin Scorsese is willing to be involved with, and the fact that all of his films always have the best actors is just icing on the cake for me. Leonardo DiCaprio is my guy, so his involvement solidified the fact that I would be reserving my seat for opening day. Once the film was announced I did my research and learned that it was of course based on true events, so I looked into the David Grann book that the story was pulled from and decided to grab it from the library.

I enjoy myself a good crime thriller book, but they are usually fiction aside from a few exceptions, and I decided I would give this one a chance and wow was it an edge-of-your-seat read. I often read before bed and I couldn’t wait to find out what happens next often pushing me to stay up a little later most nights. Needless to say, my expectations for Killers of the Flower Moon were pretty high. So did it deliver or was this one of those epic disappointments? Keep reading to find out!

Killers of the Flower absolutely blew me away. This movie is a great example of how you effectively take a book to the big screen, which in my opinion is that much more difficult when the source material is based on a dark period in our history. Martin Scorsese found a way to craft a three-and-a-half-hour cinematic experience that told a raw and important story that needed to be told. The story of the Osage has been buried deep in the history books, and Killers of the Flower Moon brings it to the forefront in a big way.

It is no secret that Scorsese is one of the best directors to ever stand behind a video camera, but he reminds everyone that he is still at the top of his game as a director who prioritizes the finer elements of filmmaking. I thought the cast was phenomenal led by Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, Robert De Niro, and a stellar supporting cast, and the technical elements helped to create a memorable theater experience. I have seen the movie twice so far in theaters, and it was even better the 2nd time around.

The driving force of Killers of the Flower Moon is without a doubt the story. As I said in the opening I read David Grann’s book and I was honestly blown away by it. The story of the Osage is that of incredible tragedy, and at the heart of it all lies pure evil motivated by unwavering greed. One thing Killers of the Flower Moon and the recently released Dumb Money (our full review here) have in common is the simple fact that people will do anything to get rich or stay rich, simple as that. As the great Notorious B.I.G once famously said, Mo Money Mo Problems, and when it comes to the 1920s and the riches the Osage tribe stumbled upon with the oil below their land, that sentiment could not ring more true.

Throughout history, Native Americans have gotten the short end of the stick in one way or another, and the story of the Osage was supposed to be different. But as expected, the big bad wolf aka the white man refused to allow this good fortune to be. The Osage were viewed as savages, people who were lesser than and therefore undeserving, so it quickly became a story of what was viewed as a justified series of atrocities. The Osage were systematically murdered for financial gain amid a web of violence and corruption, and Killers of the Flower Moon tells this story in epic fashion. Whether or not you read the book, know the history, or just go into the theater completely blind, you will be shaken by the story that is told.

The cast in Killers of the Flower Moon is really nothing short of phenomenal in my opinion. As I said I have seen the movie twice, and the performances just seemed to get better the second time around. The film includes two particularly memorable performances delivered by Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone. I will begin by talking about Leo just because he gets the vast majority of the screen time and the story essentially runs through his character, and really loved him in this. After the movie my dad made a comment that this was a pretty unique role for him and I would agree with that, definitely not how we are used to seeing him.

The unique thing about DiCaprio’s Earnest Burkhart character is just how complex of a person he is, and for that reason, I feel like most people will have mixed emotions when it comes to how you feel about him and I felt the same way when I read the book. Burkhart is a flawed and impressionable man who is also very personable and opportunistic which more often than not lands him in hot water. The bottom line, you really needed an actor with top-tier talent taking on this role to make sure his character really resonates with viewers and I thought DiCaprio crushed it.

Lily Gladstone isn’t a household name by any means especially not up against someone like DiCaprio, but she is an incredibly talented actress who takes full advantage of their opportunity with their character Mollie Kyle. Kyle is a strong no-nonsense woman who prides themselves on speaking their mind and will do anything to protect their family. Tragedy strikes Kyle at nearly every turn and slowly turns this once confident and almost stoic Osage woman into a defeated shell of themself. Viewers will feel Kyle’s pain thanks to a powerful performance from Gladstone. I thought she was believable right from the start, and similar to Dicaprio’s character this film does not work without near-flawless execution from Gladstone and she absolutely delivered.

It will surprise nobody that Robert De Niro was crazy good as Burkhart’s uncle, William Hale. As far as character progression goes you won’t do much better than Hale, and trust me when I say that your opinion of him will change 50 times at least and that speaks to how well De Niro played this character. Hale is at the center of the spider web of tragedy surrounding the Osage, but you will have to see the movie to figure out which side he is on. Plus I really enjoyed the chemistry between all three actors and some of the scenes and interactions I could happily watch over and over again.

Although he had a fairly small amount of screen time compared to the other main characters, I loved the casting of Jesse Plemons as by-the-book Federal Agent Tom White. I gravitated toward White’s character when I read the book, and I thought Plemons did a great job capturing the energy and perseverance White brought to the investigation of the Osage murders. I won’t go too in-depth on the rest of the cast but a shout-out is deserved for Tantoo Cardinal as Kyle’s mother Lizzie Q, Cara Jade Myers as Kyle’s wild sister Anna, JaNae Collins as Kyle’s sister Rita, Jillian Dion as Kyle’s other sister Minnie, Louis Cancelmi as Kelsie Morrison, Tatanka Means as John Wren, Pete Yorn as Acie Kirby, and Tommy Schultz as the likable but not very bright bad-gun-for-hire Blackie Thompson.

Although this isn’t a film that will wow you with spectacle, Killers of the Flower Moon still brings it on the technical side of things. First I thought the score was absolutely amazing in the way that it helped to really tell the story just with tone and feel which made a huge difference in terms of how the more emotional scenes would resonate with viewers. Oftentimes heart-wrenching cries are slightly muted in favor of the score and I just loved how these scenes just seemed to hit that much harder. The late great composer Robbie Robertson, who worked with Scorsese on the 1986 film The Color of Money and The Irishman (2019), did a masterful job here.

I also have to talk about talented cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto who was fantastic as well. So much of Killers of the Flower Moon relied on really transporting viewers back to 1920s Oklahoma, and I thought Prieto was able to do that with some great shots right from the opening sequence. The film feels immersive and authentic from start to finish, and to me, the cinematography was a big reason why.

THE BAD

If you haven’t figured it out by now I loved this movie and to say I have very few issues with it would be an understatement as it is quite an achievement in filmmaking. Now interestingly enough the only thing I would even dare point a finger at is the same thing people seem to be complaining about, which is the film’s runtime. Now I understand it is already three and a half hours long but the reality is it could have been longer, and I would have welcomed that. David Grann’s book is nothing short of fantastic, and the story of the Osage is as captivating as it is heartbreaking. The story has so many layers, and I would say you needed at least five hours to tell the story from beginning to end.

Scorsese and Eric Roth do a great job summarizing the story and telling the parts that needed to be told, but I would have loved to get more of Tom White’s story, played by Jesse Plemons. White is the centerpiece of the story in the book once he is introduced, and I was fascinated by him and where his story goes well beyond the events depicted in the film. Now granted this is not a knock on an already lengthy film, but I highly recommend reading the book after seeing the movie to get the full story.

THE VERDICT

A deeply personal cinematic journey told through the legendary lens of the great Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon is a tragic and powerful story told with the utmost care and brought to life by incredible performances from a talented cast. This movie is vintage Scorsese as it executes all of the elements of great filmmaking that matter flawlessly. The vision of Scorsese, the intimate and immersive screenplay, an amazing score, glorious technical elements from the cinematography, set design, and costumes, it all came together to create one of the best films I have seen in a long time. Support filmmaking in its finest form and see Killers of the Flower Moon in theaters as soon as possible.