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Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
This is a terrible film...elevated into greatness by a master director in Martin Scorsese. This is the story of the Osage County murders over the course of a decade in the 1920's. The Native American's are on the verge of collapse and starvation at the beginning of the film until they strike oil and the 25 surviving families are given portions of oil money every month so the government can use it.
With great wealth comes a group of thieving cowboys who are looking to take advantage of the Native people. King Hale brings in his nephew to work a cab service and basically seduce a diabetic named Mollie. Mollie is one of several sisters who all intermarry with the white men in the story. The bodies slowly pile up and Ernst is stuck between his uncle and his wife/children.
The film is shot beautifully on the actual lands of Osage County. During the course of the film we got from the western era to the start suburban life. It's an interesting contrast between those that own homes and others who live in the woods and prey on the victims. But the film has several serious narrative and tonal issues which makes it a good film but not a great one.
To start off the biggest issue is POV character of Ernst. Now in real life, Ernst was a handsome 20 something man and Mollie was a dour fat woman. Scorsese and Dicaprio decided to age up all the characters 20 years which causes major contradictions with the denouncement/epilogue. We aren't given a love story between Mollie and Ernst rather we get more of a crime story with King and Ernst. But while King is great (and Deniro might get an Oscar) the criminal aspect of the story always takes a back seat.
New and important characters are introduced throughout the 3 hour run time and are given very little payoff. The central investigator is a character who could be at the center of the story is pushed into the background. A deus ex machina type figure if you will. The last half hour of the film could have used another half hour to get all the pieces of the trial together. The story has a perfect ending with a question in a room...but it's end thrown away and wasted by a radio play at the end.
While I haven't seen ten films this year that were better than this...I'm pretty sure I will. This is a solid four star film and a real missed opportunity for a five star miniseries.
Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
This is a terrible film...elevated into greatness by a master director in Martin Scorsese. This is the story of the Osage County murders over the course of a decade in the 1920's. The Native American's are on the verge of collapse and starvation at the beginning of the film until they strike oil and the 25 surviving families are given portions of oil money every month so the government can use it.
With great wealth comes a group of thieving cowboys who are looking to take advantage of the Native people. King Hale brings in his nephew to work a cab service and basically seduce a diabetic named Mollie. Mollie is one of several sisters who all intermarry with the white men in the story. The bodies slowly pile up and Ernst is stuck between his uncle and his wife/children.
The film is shot beautifully on the actual lands of Osage County. During the course of the film we got from the western era to the start suburban life. It's an interesting contrast between those that own homes and others who live in the woods and prey on the victims. But the film has several serious narrative and tonal issues which makes it a good film but not a great one.
To start off the biggest issue is POV character of Ernst. Now in real life, Ernst was a handsome 20 something man and Mollie was a dour fat woman. Scorsese and Dicaprio decided to age up all the characters 20 years which causes major contradictions with the denouncement/epilogue. We aren't given a love story between Mollie and Ernst rather we get more of a crime story with King and Ernst. But while King is great (and Deniro might get an Oscar) the criminal aspect of the story always takes a back seat.
New and important characters are introduced throughout the 3 hour run time and are given very little payoff. The central investigator is a character who could be at the center of the story is pushed into the background. A deus ex machina type figure if you will. The last half hour of the film could have used another half hour to get all the pieces of the trial together. The story has a perfect ending with a question in a room...but it's end thrown away and wasted by a radio play at the end.
While I haven't seen ten films this year that were better than this...I'm pretty sure I will. This is a solid four star film and a real missed opportunity for a five star miniseries.