'Killers Of The Flower Moon' Echoes With Ardor And Burning Questions

HOLLYWOOD, CA — Love and Betrayal collide in Martin Scorsese’s latest directorial outing, a feature drama about the unsettling real-life story of a series of brazen murders that took place in Osage County, Oklahoma in the early 20th century. Known as the “Reign of Terror,” the horrific and tragic period ensued after the discovery of oil reserves under the Osage Nation's land.

“Killers of the Flower Moon,” based on David Grann’s 2017 nonfiction bestseller of the same name, delves into the systemic exploitation of the Osage Native Americans as white interlopers become increasingly emboldened to instill fear and terror into the families with headrights to the oil profits.

Many might wonder if the movie remains faithful to the book. The answer lies in the approach. Whereas the book focuses on the crimes against the Osage and the investigative work undertaken to uncover the truth, the movie navigates the tragedy through the prism of a love story.

In the book, Grann first provides readers the pertinent information about the Osage murders and then explores how former Texas Ranger Tom White, along with the help of an FBI team, solved the case.

Particularly, Grann’s big reveal details how a white rancher named William Hale plotted to tap into the Osage’s wealth and then orchestrated the murders of at least 20 tribal members. The wicked businessman’s partner in crime? His nephew, Ernest Burkhart. Shockingly, the two men had also targeted Ernest's wife, Mollie Kyle, along with her Osage family for their oil money and life insurance policies. Other conspirators included the local law enforcement who were corrupted with bribes from Hale.

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By contrast, Scorsese’s movie explores the story of the Osage murders with a romantic angle at the heart of the tragedy. Evidently, it is a love affair doomed to fail from the get-go.

Enter rancher William Hale (Robert De Niro), who summons Ernest (Leonardo DiCaprio), a World War 1 veteran, to come to live in Osage county. Their motive? The uncle-nephew duo will conspire to steal the Osage’s money by hook or by crook, even at the expense of marrying off Ernest into an Osage family. How convenient! Soon, Ernest marries Mollie (Lily Gladstone), an oil-rich Osage woman. Undeniably, they fall deeply in love.

But the twisted romance will not last as Ernest will eventually confess guilt for the murders of Mollie’s family members while testifying against Hale.

See it.

With a runtime of 206 minutes long, the movie is bound to test one’s patience. Still, rest assured that the movie enthralls with a palpable and gripping tension. The collective performances of De Niro, Di Caprio and Gladstone are on fire, anchored by Scorsese's brilliance.

But we would be remiss if we did not tell you about the crux of the question about the movie: Whether or not Scorsese took the right approach in reframing the story of the Osage murders.

Could it have been better if it were simply a whodunnit crime-mystery movie? Or, since Mollie pumps the heartbeat of the movie, could it have been better if it were a crime-love story that follows Mollie rather than Ernest?

Finally, at the two-hour mark, audiences will have seen enough of the murder spree, so could the story have been told with the same amount of gravitas and deftness for under three hours?

Go see “Killers of the Flower Moon” to find out.