Film review: ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’
Scorsese’s shocking true crime epic is another late-career triumph.
Based on the true story of a plot to systematically murder wealthy indigenous people, Killers of the Flower Moon finds Martin Scorsese continuing his career-long obsession with sin and guilt.
Much has been said about the film’s daunting 206-minute runtime. It’s long — a little too long, particularly in its final act — but the story is so grotesquely captivating that most disciplined viewers shouldn’t have a problem sitting with it.
Longtime Scorsese collaborators Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio deliver predictably strong performances, but it’s Lily Gladstone who steals the show. Her performance radiates quiet strength and resilience; a powerful woman rendered powerless in a twisted system of oppression and injustice.
Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto expertly captures the rural majesty of early 21st-century Oklahoma. Editor Thelma Schoonmaker easily remains the best in her field, seven long decades after her first feature.
It’s not quite the masterpiece some claim, but Killers of the Flower Moon is comfortably one of the year’s best. A film of beauty and insidious horror, it’s a troubling account of our dark nature told by the master of the craft. It deserves your time.
★★★★☆
