The setting: Oklahoma in the 1920s. Oil has been discovered on land owned by the Osage Nation, making members of the tribe — males and females — fabulously wealthy because of the mineral rights — headrights — they own.
Whites begin plotting ways to gain control of those headrights. White men suddenly find Osage woman desirable marriage partners. And members of the Osage tribe begin dying mysterious deaths that are never investigated.
After serving in World War I, Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) returns to that Oklahoma looking for opportunities with his rich and powerful uncle WIlliam “King” Hale (Robert DeNiro), with whom he brother Byron is already employed.
Hale acknowledges lots of crooked activity in the area and advises his nephew that if he’s going to risk trouble, he should make sure there’s a big payoff involved. Then the cattle baron / influential businessman puts him to work as a driver.
One of Ernest’s frequent customers is Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone), an Osage woman. Ernest begins to develop an attraction to her. She dubs him coyote, knows he’s after her money, but can’t resist his blue eyes and his charm.
They marry.
Which fits right into his uncles “big” plan — to obtain the headrights owned by Mollie, her mother and her three sisters.
One sister, married to a white man named Bill Smith, is already dying of a wasting illness. The mother, Lizzie, is in poor health.
One by one, “King” Hale will arrange the deaths of the others, all the while pretending to be a great friend of the family.
Mollie, suffering from diabetes herself, is convinced foul play is involved. She comes to trust no one but her husband, not realizing he’s embroiled in his uncle’s scheming, that in fact he’s been helping arrange the murders.
Then “King” Hale arranges for Mollie to become one of the only patients in the country to receive experimental insulin shots for her diabetes. And encourages Ernest to include a special additive designed to ease his wife’s suffering.
Leonardo DiCaprio as Ernest Burkhart, flashing the smile that wins over Mollie in Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Lily Gladstone as Mollie, making it clear she knows Ernest is after her money too in Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Review:
Kudos to Martin Scorsese for shining light on a little known dark chapter of American Indian history in a film based on a non-fiction book of the same name by David Grann.
Leonardo DiCaprio turns in a sterling performance as a man who insists he “isn’t thick” when meeting with his uncle upon his return to Oklahoma.
Then he proves oh, so easily manipulated, seeming truly in love with his wife Mollie, all the while actively working with his uncle to destroy her family to obtain more wealth for his.
Lily Gladstone is excellent too as Mollie, though you’re going to want to reach through the screen and shake her for putting so much trust in her husband while trusting no other whites around her.
Ah, but here’s the problem. This film is three and one-half hours long. And as the time drags by, you might repeatedly find yourself asking, “Why was that scene necessary?”
And if a viewer is going to be asked to sit through a film for three and a half hours, there better be a “big payoff” at the end.
Spoiler: In this film, there isn’t. The ending is a major disappointment.
In truth, given the talent involved, so is the film as a whole. I reserve ratings of four stars and above for films I’d watch again purely for their entertainment value, not just for inclusion in this blog.
“Killers of the Flower Moon,” unfortunately, is not one of those films.
Robert DeNiro as William ‘King’ Hale, meeting with his nephew upon his return from World War I in Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Scott Shepherd as Byron Burkhart, trying to cover his tracks after a series of mysterious deaths in Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Directed by:
Martin Scorsese
Cast:
Leonardo DiCaprio … Ernest Burkhart
Robert DeNiro … William Hale
Lily Gladstone … Mollie Burkhart
Jesse Plemons … Tom White
Tanto Cardinal … Lizzie Q
John Lithgow … Prosecutor Peter Leaward
Brendan Fraser … W.S. Hamilton
Cara Jade Myers … Anna
Janae Collins … Reta
Jillian Dion … Minnie
Jason Isbell … Bill Smith
William Belleau … Henry Roan
Louis Cancelmi … Kelsie Morrison
Scott Shepherd … Byron Burkhart
Everett Waller … Paul Red Eagles
Talee Redcorn … Non-Hon-Zhin-Ga
Yancey Red Corn .. Chief Bonnicastle
Tatanka Means … John Wren
Tommy Schultz … Blackie Thompson
Sturgill Simpson … Henry Grammer
Ty Mitchell … John Ramsey
Gary Basaraba … Detective Burns
Charlie Musselwhite … Alvin Reynolds
Pat Healy … Agent John Burger
Steve Witting .. Dr. James Shoun
Steve Routman … Dr. David Shoun
Gene Jones … Pitts Beaty
Michael Abbott Jr. … Agent Frank Smith
Runtime: 206 min.
Tanto Cardinal as Lizzie Q, fretting that her family’s blood is becoming too white in Flowers of the Killer Moon (2023)
Cara Jade Myers as Anna, Mollie’s fiesty, party loving sister in Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Memorable lines:
William Hale: “Most fellas out here are crooked. Some do things right. Most do bad. So don’t be simple.
Ernest Burkhart: “No sir. I won’t.”
Hale: “Don’t make small trouble about nothin’. If you’re gonna make trouble, make it big. Get a big payoff for that. You hear?”
William Hale: “Osage are the finest and most beautiful people on God’s earth.”
Ernest Burkhart to Mollie, who’s just made a comment about him in her native language: “I don’t know what you said, but it must’ve been Indian for handsome devil.”
Ernest Burkhart: “You just called me a coyote, didn’t you?”
Mollie: “Coyote wants money.”
Burkhart: “Well, that money’s nice. Real nice. Especially if you’re lazy like me.”
William Hale, about Henry Roan, a “melancoly” Osage he watches over: “That’s $25,000 laying there. I got an insurance policy on him. It’s against what he owes me. So if he succeeds in demising himself before the end of the year, I forfeit. So he needs to stay alive at least a few more months. I might even get a chance at his headrights.”
Jesse Plemons as Tom White, the federal government man sent to Oklahoma to investigate the murders in Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Jason Isbell as Bill Smith, the man who marries two of Mollie’s sisters in Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Jillian Dion as Minnie, Mollie’s sister, answering ‘King’ Hale’s questions about her health in Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Janae Collins as Reta, Mollie’s sister, talking about heading to Colorado Springs where it might be safer in Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Robert DeNiro as William ‘King’ Hale, reassuring Ernest he has nothing to worry about if charged with a crime in Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Lily Gladstone as Mollie, suspecting her husband knows more about his sister’s death than he’s sharing in Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Leonardo DiCaprio, trying to sort out the latest directive from his uncle in Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Everett Waller as Paul Red Eagles, demanding justice for the Osage Nation in Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Gary Basaraba as Detective Burns, the private investigator Mollie hires to look into the murders in Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Gene Jones as Pitts Beaty, put in charge of monitoring Mollie’s use of her money in Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Pete Yorn as Achie Kirby, the explosives expert, being set up by William Hale in Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Tommy Schultz as Blackie Thompson, being hired for a murder in Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Ty Mitchell as John Ramsey, taking deadly orders from William Hale through Ernest in Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Leonardo DiCaprio as Ernest Burkhart and Lily Gladstone as his wife Mollie during a somber moment in Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
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