Killers of the Flower Moon: Masterful retelling of a dark chapter in American history

It is not easy to condense the tale of the Osage Indian murders, the serial killing of over 60 native Americans, into a movie for casual viewing. Such a graphic, horrific story which is frighteningly common in American history perhaps cannot truly be told by someone who didn't live through it. 

But in "Killers of the Flower Moon" director Martin Scorsese never tries to speak on behalf of Osage Nation, he and by extension us only catch glimpses of the community's trauma. 

We watch the gruesome tale of the murders through the eyes of Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) who at the direction of his uncle, William K Hale (Robert De Niro) helps orchestrate the atrocities. 

At Hale's instruction, the rather hapless Ernest marries Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone), their true objective being gaining the oil headrights that belong to Mollie's family. 

With brutal precision, while Ernest slowly poisons a diabetic Mollie under the guise of treatment, each member of her family is picked off by Hale's thugs. 

But it is not just her family who are brutally murdered (even in broad daylight), it seems behind every Osage is the white man, hungrily awaiting the chance to finish the job and take over their headright.

Around 30 minutes into the film's hefty three hour 30 minutes runtime, we see Ernest reading from a children's book.

"Can you find the wolves in this picture," he asks.

It's a heavy-handed metaphor, especially since immediately afterwards is where the brutality kicks off. While initially we see Hale and Ernest tiptoe around their true intentions, from here on out their evil is as plain to see as the metaphor itself.   

And while much of the film's pace is slower than his usual, the gore is fast paced and stark. There are no punches pulled in these sequences. The injustice of these will likely have you yelling at the screen. 

Often you will find yourself wondering just how no one can see the writing on the wall. How no one can see the wolves that surround them are their very husbands and friends. 

Scorsese's fascination with villainy and the frameworks of power has long been explored throughout his filmography. "Killers of the Flower Moon" is no different in this regard, Scorsese doesn't destroy this foundation to his filmmaking but rather builds upon it. 

The scope is unlike anything he's done before and it is truly one of his best. This isn't just a 'gangster' film but a questioning portrayal of corruption and greed in American history.

The villains in this film are not only Hale and Ernest but the American hegemony itself. Osage Nation at the time of the murders during 1918-1931 were the richest in the country due to the oil reserves they found but the law considers them "incompetent" and they require white legal guardians to manage their money.

This law enables the gruesome murders of the Osage in the film. Racism permeates the film, even if it is not often outright stated. 

The true heroes however are the actors themselves who each bring a magnetic portrayal of these very real characters. This is one of De Niro's finest. He is stone cold as the sociopathic Hale. One minute he'll embrace someone and in the next he'll be ordering a hit on them to collect their life insurance money. 

And while it may be difficult to have a nuanced portrayal of a dumb character, DiCaprio manages to show Ernest's complexities with effortless skill. The tragedy of Ernest is that he genuinely loves Mollie and the family they have built together and yet he continues this reign of terror. 

But the true star is Gladstone whose regal presence is the only grounding element in this whirlwind of a film. Even as her family is killed around her, she stands resolute. The audience mourns with her and with each death, you're left questioning how it is that Mollie is still somehow sane.

Even on her deathbed, she begs her guardian for the money to go to Washington DC and beg for the President's help. Even as we see her break, piece by piece, Mollie becomes the catalyst behind uncovering the killers.

Gladstone not only holds her own against the likes of De Niro and DiCaprio but stands taller above them all, much like Mollie herself.

Rodrigo Prieto's cinematography provides the perfect backdrop for the events. Scorsese and Prieto strive to keep their style as authentic as possible, and successfully manages to capture the style of the period. The custom-made anamorphic lenses are perfect to capture the wide landscapes and set the scope for the film. 

What truly ties together each element is the late Robbie Robertson's soundtrack – a blue bass that seemingly haunts each character, especially Mollie throughout the film. 

While some segments may seem slow paced, it is the ending that signs off with a bang. It comes quite unexpectedly and features a cameo from the director himself in a sort of fourth wall break. 

It's the only kind of ending that would do this tale justice. After all, it's very clear that Scorsese never intended to make this from the eyes of the Osage. 

This film, like many others to tackle subjects like this, is simply a dramatised retelling of a shameful part of American history. The Osage Nation murders is a tragedy that has rippled across every generation of Osage but for us it is just another bite size piece of media to consume. 

In this Scorsese (which he readily admits to) and the audience are complicit, and that may be the true metaphor of the film.