I recently watched “Killers of the Flower Moon,” and I have to admit that I was quite disappointed. I’m a huge fan of Martin Scorsese, one of my favorite directors, but even the best can stumble from time to time. It seemed like “Killers of the Flower Moon” aimed to be a grandiose three-hour-plus masterpiece, but it ended up tripping over itself and failing not just its audience but also the tragic history of the Osage people, whose story it was supposed to portray. This film appeared to be a classic example of Oscar bait, leveraging Scorsese and DiCaprio’s names, and it felt like the media and the studio were working together to draw the audience into theaters. In some ways, it felt like a bait-and-switch.
The portrayal of the Osage characters in the film was disappointingly underdeveloped. What we saw in the movie were Indigenous characters depicted as helpless and fearful individuals, stripped of their agency over their wealth, land, and lives. This starkly contrasts with the historical reality of the Osage, who were known as formidable warriors. Their religious beliefs were rooted in Wah-kon-tah, the great mystery spirit or power. In historical context, it’s highly improbable that they would have passively allowed these White individuals to seize their wealth and carry out violence against them without putting up a resilient fight.
The film is excruciatingly lengthy with its runtime, dragging on and becoming unnecessarily relentless in its depiction of graphic violence and the murders of the Osage. It’s no wonder that many Native Americans are disheartened by the portrayal in this film. Indigenous actress Devery Jacobs of “Reservation Dogs” posted her ire: “Being Native, watching this movie was fucking hellfire. Imagine the worst atrocities committed against your ancestors, then having to sit thru a movie explicitly filled w/ them, w/ the only respite being 30min long scenes of murderous white guys talking about/planning the killings.” And there you have it.
Now, let’s discuss the acting. Leonardo DiCaprio, who typically delivers performances ranging from very good to outstanding, falls short in his portrayal of “Ernest Burkhart” in this film. It felt like he was embodying a painful caricature of an already poorly written character, to the point where it seemed like he might break into laughter at any moment. The quality of his performance was disappointingly low. Lily Gladstone, who grew up on the Blackfeet Reservation, took on the role of “Mollie Burkhart,” an Osage woman and the wife of Ernest Burkhart. Despite having minimal dialogue in the film, even though she was supposed to be one of the lead characters, she managed with what she had to work with. However, her performance, while acceptable, did not reach the level of an Oscar-worthy portrayal. Robert De Niro’s performance was solid, but it was reminiscent of previous characters he has played, including variations of the “William Hale” character in other films. There was nothing particularly noteworthy about his role here.
I can’t help but note how Scorsese included references to the 1921 Tulsa/Black Wall Street Massacre in this film. He seemed to be drawing a parallel between what happened to the Osage and that horrific tragedy, but they are not comparable. In Tulsa, a violent White mob killed hundreds of Black residents, burned down over 1,250 homes and businesses, and obliterated years of Black success.
In contrast, approximately 24 Osage were murdered for their oil-rich land, or “headrights.” Although the Osage people are no longer among the wealthiest Native American groups, the impact of the oil industry is still felt today, with many Osages receiving quarterly royalty payments, still known as headrights. Those who survived the 1921 Black Wall Street Massacre lost everything. So, the two tragic events are not equivalent.
“Killers of the Flower Moon” is a disheartening film because it failed to delve deeply into the lives and the harrowing trauma experienced by the Osage. It felt like that horrendous tragedy was merely used as a plot device to advance the seemingly primary storyline, which revolved around the relationship between Ernest Burkhart (DiCaprio) and his uncle William Hale (DeNiro).
The Scoodie 