The much awaited western epic Killers of the Flower Moon released on October 20th, 2023, and has immediately become yet another masterpiece in Scorsese’s much storied filmography. Its runtime at an astounding 3 hours and 26 minutes may cause some more casual moviegoers to balk, but for those up to it they will find a tour de force that can only be achieved by Scorsese. The opening scene features a group of Osage elders burying a ceremonial pipe as they mourn the death of their culture at the hands of an America hell-bent upon violent assimilation of its native people, but just as this burial occurs the Earth bestows upon the Osage geysers of oil spraying from the ground. A once barren wasteland, now rich in material wealth, provides the setting for Killers of the Flower Moon which was hot mainly on site in Osage County, Oklahoma. Scorsese uses the runtime to his advantage as he meticulously recreates the world of 1920s Oklahoma while the slow burn of the plot slowly reveals the true depravity of William Hale (played by Robert De Niro) and Ernest Burkhart’s (played by Leonardo Dicaprio) plot to marry into and murder the family of Mollie Kyle (an Osage woman played by Lily Gladstone) in order to secure the rights to their oil wealth. This leaves a path of death and destruction, including dozens of other murder plots, which eventually, despite the interference of William Hale and his co-conspirators, sees the newly formed FBI look into the murders.

Gladstone, Dicaprio, and De Niro all give masterful performances. In particular, Gladstone gives a gut wrenching performance as the slowly fading, yet still strong-willed, Mollie Kyle. Dicaprio gives a raw, emotional, and physical performance as Ernest Burkhart. De Niro gives one of the best performances of his career as his performance perfectly encapsulates the two-faced nature of Hale’s horrible scheme. I felt chills as De Niro consistently assured Ernest that he hoped no harm would come to Mollie and in the next encounter would angrily demand that Ernest help him murder yet another close friend or relative of Mollie. 

However, Killers of the Flower Moon benefits from an absolutely stacked ensemble cast. Most memorably, Brendan Fraser plays the part of W.S Hamilton, Hale’s attorney, and physically dominates the screen both in stature and strength of performance. It isn’t hard to see how Ernest would be intimidated into not testifying against his uncle by Fraser’s character who delivers — frequently in a harsh shout — his lines with a truly theatrical and dramatic quality. Jesse Plemons who plays Tom White, the lead FBI investigator, contrasts this with a performance that creates the almost platonic ideal of a serious and somber investigator who never overplays his hand. 

I left the theater simultaneously crushed by the emotional weight of the story and also in awe at the technical genius of Scorsese and his actors. In the span of a not-so-short three and a half hours, Scorsese tells a story that has very scarcely been told by Hollywood of the exploitation of Native Americans. Scorsese’s return to the genre of mob movies with his 2019 contemplation on death and aging in the form of The Irishman, proved a massive success, and I am delighted to say that Scorsese has carried on his directorial foray into more slow burning contemplative films with Killers of the Flower Moon. It’s a film that truly seeks to reveal the base violence present in interactions between American society and its native peoples, and it asks the viewer to consider how our justice system has failed in the past to address this. Though I feel as though Scorsese may have been aided in the furtherance of this goal by making more than just a passing mention of the dozens of other murders during the time period. This however, does not detract from the deeply tragic and gripping tale told by Scorsese. With only one viewing, I hesitate to give it five out of five rating, however I feel as though Killers of the Flower Moon easily deserves a four and half out of five rating.