A must watch, masterful, at times traumatic, depiction of the real life systematic genocide that befell the Osage.
Killers of the Flower Moon, is purposefully far from enjoyable, yet, you can’t seem to look away. It is 3 Hours 26 Minutes of quintessential Scorsese, as he effortlessly weaves together incredible amounts of trauma, pain and distrust, not too dissimilar to the gangster period pieces that he is widely known for, all while still presenting moments of joy, beauty and love.
Scorsese does what he does best, imposing the characters feelings onto the audience through simple camera movements that don’t allow you to turn away from the horror unfolding before your eyes. There is no space to manoeuvre within scenes of intense conversation, moments of action and or reflection. Sucking you in with every zoom, Scorsese brands the viewer an accomplice to the madness, as scars and moral torment that will make your blood boil with rage, anguish and despair begin to latch onto your conscience.
This important piece of cinema was made in tandem with many of the remaining Osage Nation leaders, artists and educators in an attempt to rip the sheet of secrecy that has been laid upon the ethnic cleansing and attempted genocide of an entire native people by their colonisers, some may say this movie, all though unplanned, has arrived at the perfect moment in time, to dissuade and condemn history repeating itself. The Osage customs are beautifully represented via traditional ceremonies, outfits and spiritual beliefs, creating a strong sense of compassion and empathy from the outset, as the movie slowly but effectively begins to flap its metaphorical and literal wings, wings that are mutilated from hope, peace and serenity, into death by means of greed, ignorance and corruption.
The positive and sympathetic light the Osage people are lit from, greatly juxtaposes the cunningly sinister performance by 2 time academy award winner, Robert De Niro. His lack of sincerity, arrogance and subtle puppetry of every situation, will send shivers down your spine. Complimented by the simple yet transformative performance of Leonardo DiCaprio, who, through the utilisation of appearance and taut expression, manages to skilfully portray the conflict raging inside an inadequate WW1 veteran, that, throughout the feature, is manipulated into fighting a war against his own emotions. However, the standout performance is objectively, Lily Gladstone’s. Her justifiably paranoid, fearful and forcefully subdued presentation garners respect as she suppresses desire for revenge, combatting the fear all women, specifically those of Osage decent, must have felt during a time of male dominance and injustice.
The dark deep rooted pain, trauma and helplessness that is collectively felt by all Osage, may cause great discomfort and generational grief throughout members of the world and community. Nonetheless, I believe plastering their hidden story across silver screens around the world, is a step toward salvation.
“We didn’t pray for a great life, we just prayed for LIFE”
