Movie Review: Killers of the Flower Moon

 

Michael's Movie Grade: A+

Martin Scorsese at the absolute top of his game. 

Despite the length of this movie (nearly 3 and a half hours) and its large name cast, this is not your typical large-scale epic. Instead, this is first and foremost an intimate and deeply emotional drama. Though this film may often center around its male characters, the real heart of the film lies in Molly (wonderfully played by Lily Gladstone), the Osage woman whose family is being killed off one by one. She is one of the few fully likable characters in this film and she gives us a strong emotional connection to all the horrific acts that are committed in this film. Because we can about her, even when she is not on screen, we are emotional drawn in because we don't want to her to go through any more of these horrors. As for most of the rest of the characters, they are truly despicable human beings. Yet anyone who has ever watched a Scorsese film knows that he excels at making us feel very invested in characters that are far from likable. These characters draw us in with a certain undeniable charisma, that not only makes it hard to look away but makes what they do far more terrifying. With Scorsese's incredible talent he even makes us for short periods forget how terrible these people are and have us briefly sympathize with them. However not long afterwards we are back to recoiling in horror. This mastery of playing with our emotions and how we connect to the characters is just part of why Scorsese is a master filmmaker. Of course, it does not hurt that Leonardo Decaprio and Robert DeNiro give performances that just as great as any of their classic movie roles. 

Despite this movie's very long length, it never feels overlong. Every moment feels like it has a reason to be there and adds something to either the story or the film's emotional resonance. Also, while the movie may be long, it is never once boring, nor did it ever once lose my attention. By the end of the film, I was just as entranced by what I was watching as I was at the start of the movie. 

Of course, an important (and often overlooked) part of any Scorsese film is the music. The music here is simply wonderful. The original score is by Robbie Robertson, formally of The Band (the stars of the Scorsese directed concert film, The Last Waltz (1978)). His music here is simply incredible, often times perfectly combining traditional film music with traditional native American music to create something that is very powerful and emotional. Many scenes here, would not have anywhere near the emotional power they have without this score. The movie also makes great use of old country gospel songs, which both add to the movie's sense of atmosphere as well as providing an effective contrast to the horrible violent acts. This often helps emphasize the pure hypocrisy of many of the characters, who present themselves as good Christians but are anything but. 

For any true cinema lover, this is essential viewing.