Grim Western tale sees Scorsese back to his best
Killers of the Flower Moon
206 mins, Unrated
★★★★★
EVERYONE loves Martin Scorsese. But has he made a truly great movie since Goodfellas? He’s churned out technically brilliant true-crime thrillers (Casino, Gangs of New
York, The Wolf of Wall Street, The Irishman) and dabbled in other genres (The Age of Innocence, Kundun, Hugo, Silence). Yet something’s been missing. Till now.
Quentin Tarantino, 60, says he’s quitting the directing game because he doesn’t want to become “this old man who’s out of touch.” What a plonker. Film-makers should keep going. I’d even put my cowboy boot on the line and declare this one of the best Westerns ever and almost certainly the best film of 2023 so far.
Sure, those with squirrel bladders will be punished by the three hour, 26 minutes running time. But since when did pleasure come pain-free?
An adaptation of David Grann’s 2017 non-fiction bestseller, it’s set in 1920s Oklahoma and traces a grim conspiracy to bump off Native Americans. Members of the Osage Nation (wealthy as a result of living on oil-rich land) are dropping like flies, and no one’s stopping it.
Cattle rancher William Hale (Robert De Niro) encourages his nephew, Ernest (Leonardo DiCaprio), to learn the tribe’s Siouan language and marry Osage heiress Mollie (Lily Gladstone). Meanwhile, Mollie’s mother, and one of Mollie’s sisters, are dying from a mysterious disease. It’s possible they’re being poisoned, but by whom?
This movie contains shootings, explosions and mangled bodies. There’s even a small but crucial role for a Catholic priest. What makes this feel like new territory is the focus on Mollie. This woman is smart, witty and assertive, but ignores all the red flags that the universe sends her. Does Mollie (a devout Catholic) enjoy suffering? That’s the million dollar question that Gladstone’s performance answers. The 36-year-old actress, by the way, has Olivia de Havilland’s immaculate cheekbones and Ingrid Bergman’s warmth. When her character screams, it will chill every one of your bones.
De Niro is just as sensational. As for DiCaprio, his mouth gets a tad twitchy towards the end (à la Marlon Brando, in The Godfather) but he dazzles in a quietly nasty exchange with Mollie’s brother-in-law, Bill (Jason Isbell, on his acting debut).
Scorsese serves up so many arresting images (like a slo-mo shot of Osage men, whirling through plumes of oil) but it’s the way he messes with our heads which is so impressive. That ability to shift gear extends to Robbie Robertson’s soundtrack (at one point, I could have sworn I was listening to Canned Heat), and to the finale, which honours the anarchic and satirical spirit of Scorsese’s heroes, Powell and Pressburger.
Scorsese is well aware that by turning a horrific set of murders into entertainment, he’s part of the story (his cameo is perfect). This movie is bound to be controversial but the genius who made it wouldn’t want it any other way.
• Killers of the Flower Moon will be released in cinemas on October 6