Killers of the Flower Moon

So much of the time films based on a true story can be stranger than fiction, and "Killers of the Flower Moon" definitively proves that. One would think that this being based in the 1920's, a certain amount of morals and values would reign certainly more than in today's society. Undoubtedly there was more of a morality back then as compared to present day, but this story brings out a certain amount of evil that looks shocking by even today's standards. 

Based on David Gann's broadly lauded book, "Killers of the Flower Moon" is set in 1920's Oklahoma depicts the serial murder of members of the oil wealthy Osage Nation, a string of brutal crimes that came to be known as the Reign of Terror. William K.Hale (Robert De Niro), who is a prominent local figure reunites with Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) after Burkhart's stint in WWI attempting to unravel what's happening to the Osage Indians back then--who is committing these murders and why? Burkhart subsequently marries Mollie Brown (Lily Gladstone), a member of the Osage Nation, only putting that relationship into compromise. Ultimately a federal agent, Tom White (Jesse Plemons) comes out there to investigate the continued murders when beseeched  from Mollie to come to Oklahoma to help her people. 

Others to round out the cast are Jason Isbell as Bill Smith, John Lithgow as Prosecutor Leaward, Brendan Fraser as W. S. Hamilton, Cara Jade Myers as Anne Kyle Brown and Tantoo Cardinal as Lizzie Q. 

This was consummately directed by Martin Scorsese ("New York City...Melting Point" '66, "Mean Streets" '73, "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" '74, "Taxi Driver" '76, "Raging Bull" '80, "The King of Comedy" '82, "The Color of Money" '86, "Goodfellas" '90, "Cape Fear" '91, "Casino" '95, "Gangs of New York" '02, "The Aviator" '04, "The Departed" '06, "Shutter Island" '10, "Hugo" '11, "The Wolf of Wall Street" '13, "The 50 Year Argument" '14, "The Irishman" '19) and many others, plus a TV movie, shorts and videos. This director seizes to amaze me with his innate ability to extract just the most effective emotions to bring these characters to life, His relationship with his longtime editor, Thelma Schoonmaker ace is one that should never be split up since she simply knows how to cut his films with expertise and clarity. It was effectively written by veteran writer Eric Roth ("To Catch a Pebble" '70, "The Drowning Pool" '75, "The Concorde...Airport '79" '79, "The Onion Field" '79, "Memories of Me" '88, "Forrest Gump" '94, "The Postman" '97, "The Insider" '99, "Ali" '01, "Munich" '05, "Lucky You" '07, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" '08, "A Star is Born" '18, "Dune" '21) and others, plus TV movies, TV and shorts and Martin Scorsese ("New York City...Melting Point" '66, "Mean Streets" '73, "Goodfellas" '90, "Casino" '95, "My Voyage to Italy" '99, "A Letter to Ella" '10, "Silence" '16) plus TV movies, TV and shorts, based on the book by David Gann. The exhaustive research in the recreating of this film about the Osage Nation was incredibly delineated, which definitely added to the realism of the story. Other than a couple of very small places of slowness and some very small continuity issues, this script was extraordinary. The running time was almost three and a half hours and simply moved right along and allowed the audience to see what this people went through. 

Certainly if you're a Scorsese fan, this is quintessential Scorsese replete with, not only De Niro, but DiCaprio as well. And if you have to see this up, close and personal, it is also presented in an IMAX format as well. If you are a person that has a tough time sitting for a while, you might want to rethink in seeing this in the theater. 

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                        Rated: R                                   206mins.