Director: Martin Scorsese

Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, Robert De Niro, Jesse Plemons

Scorsese’s long-awaited adaption of David Grann’s 2017 non-fiction book ‘Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI’ is immaculately-rendered, but unruly and overlong.

A pacey opening illustrates via fake newsreel footage how the Native American Osage tribe were shunted off their ancestral homelands to unpromising Oklahoma land, but in the late 1890s, discovered a huge reserve of oil beneath them, making them the wealthiest Americans per capita.  Cue jaunty footage of boom times in the Osage community, replete with scenes of conspicuous consumption and rousing motor races along the town of Fairfax’s main street.

The town is unofficially presided over by wealthy, well-connected cattleman William ‘King’ Hale (De Niro) who helps take care of the Osage community’s business at considerable profit to himself. When his nephew, the on-the-make WW1 veteran Ernest Burkhart (DiCaprio) moves to Fairfax, King quickly procures a job for him as a driver. One of his customers is the self-possessed Osage woman, Mollie (Gladstone). Recent deaths have placed Mollie as the next in line for the family fortune, so King advises nephew Ernest to marry Mollie (‘a smart investment’) so he can gain access. Nevertheless, there seems to be genuine affection between the couple and they are wed. But the mysterious deaths continue.

Despite the supposed tweaks to accentuate the Osage viewpoint, the discursive and exposition-heavy script, co-written by Scorsese with Eric ‘Forest Gump’ Roth, still prioritises the dealings and double-crossings amongst the white characters. It’s a shame because some of the best scenes are when the Osage are talking amongst themselves, particularly an illuminating sequence when Mollie chats to the other women about their marriage prospects and the pros and cons of marrying a white man.

The picture find some much-needed focus in the last hour with the arrival of FBI agent Tom White (the always excellent Plemons) whose investigation leads to the film’s climactic trial. Given the decision to maintain the focus on the white characters, the overlong three-and-a-half-hour running time might have been pruned considerably had they started with White’s appearance and worked backwards via testimonies.

Reservations (ahem) aside, the picture is beautifully crafted, with Jack Fisk’s evocative period production design and Rodrigo Prieto’s striking rendering of the town in muted blues and greys. The muscular drum-heavy rockish score from the recently-departed Robbie Robertson is among his best work for the director and it’s a fitting testimony.

DiCaprio and De Niro are impressive, although DiCaprio’s Popeye-style jaw-jutting feels mannered, and Scorsese indulges the pair in a few too many rapid back-and-forth type exchanges. Gladstone’s Mollie is the serene, righteous centre of the story, but disappears for long stretches in the latter half.

Killers of the Flower Moon is out now.

David Willoughby

Follow David on Twitter @DWill_Crackfilm