| Duration | 3h 30m |
| Ratings | UK: 15, USA: R, Denmark: 15 |
| Source of story | A factual book of the same name by David Grann |
| Director | Martin Scorsese |
| Writers/Script | Eric Roth, Martin Scorsese |
| Starring | Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, John Lithgow, Brendan Fraser, Tatanka Means and a cast of thousands |
| Ratings | IMDb: 8.2/10 by 34k people. Rotten Tomatoes: 92% by 324 reviewers. Review2view: 6.5/10. |
Plot of Killers of the Flower Moon: On the Osage reservation in Oklahoma oil is discovered, the revenue from the discovery being divided between the adult members of the tribe present at the time. They become very wealthy. In 1919 Ernest Burkhart returns from the war and comes under the protection of his uncle “King” Hale. He becomes a taxi driver and develops a relationship with Mollie one of those with headrights. Hale pretends to be a benefactor of the Osage, but secretly is arranging for Mollie’s relatives to be terminated, often using Ernest as a go-between with the assassins, so that in the end Ernest will be the inheritor of the wealth. Meanwhile all sorts of scams take place as a variety of doubtful people relieve the Osage of their money. In the end investigators from the embryonic FBI are sent to sort things out and have no problem doing so.
Content: No sex or nudity, but a lot of booze is drunk and smoking takes place. Ernest is often seen in discussion with King Hale, and also driving Mollie about. Their romance is catalogued. Ernest is variously involved in doubtful activities. The murders take place, some directly at the instructions from Hale. Some are quite graphically presents. Hale as a problem because Ernest does not want to murder his wife. Many of the murders are not investigated at all until the FBI guys arrive. The denouement is provided by means of a very charming radio show.
A View: The critics loved this but, it seems, cinema goers not so much up to now. It is a fascinating bit of American history which is quite well presented, although the general scamming of the rich Osage is glossed over a bit in favour of the romance between Ernest and Mollie. I suppose the film is very long so that the duplicity of King Hale is gradually made evident, but it is two hours before the FBI arrive, and I think it could have been sooner. You have to be a pretty dedicated cinema goer to spend three and a half hours watching this.
Fun Fact: Of the $200 million production cost DiCaprio’s cut was $30 million.
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