Scorsese and DiCaprio miss the mark with 'Killers of the Flower Moon'

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Killers of the Flower Moon
3 out of 5 Stars
Director: Martin Scorsese
Writers: Eric Roth, Martin Scorsese, David Grann
Starring: Lily Gladstone, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro
Genre: Drama, Crime History
Rated: R for violence, some grisly images, and language

Studio Synopsis: An epic western crime saga, where real love crosses paths with unspeakable betrayal. Based on a true story and told through the improbable romance of Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone), “Killers of the Flower Moon” tracks the suspicious murders of members of the Osage Nation, who became some of the richest people in the world overnight after oil was discovered underneath their land.

Review:While many have been quick to praise Martin Scorsese’s latest epic, I found the film to be entirely misguided. It is bloated, features underwhelming performances from its male leads, and squanders the opportunity to give a voice to the voiceless.

The story is incredibly important. I may sound like a broken record here, but if we don’t learn from the mistakes of our forefathers, we enhance the possibility of making the same mistakes again. This is what evil looks like. This is what we should abhor.

Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, costume designer Jacqueline West, and the art department team have done a tremendous job. The film is a perfect mix of gorgeous scenery, well-worn fabrics, and the muck and grime of life in the 1920s and 1930s. Lily Gladstone is fantastic as Mollie Burkhart, an Osage woman with a full claim of the oil rights that has made her tribe the richest per capita group in the world. I wish I was allowed to see the entire film through her.

So, why is this story being told from the perspective of the least interesting character in the entire narrative? Leonardo DiCaprio’s Ernest Burkhart juts out his jaw and chews his words like a Jack Nicholson by way of Marlon Brando. We spend hours with the character and it’s never clear who he is. Is he stupid or willful? Maybe he doesn’t know. More reason to tell the narrative through Mollie’s eyes: Allow the narrative to be grounded in the Osage side of the story. Mollie isn’t blind to the scheming that surrounds her.

We’ve seen plenty of films about individuals motivated by greed (Scorsese even made a few of them), but we don’t hear enough from the victims. If it must be a story of corruption and amorality told by its perpetrators, then Robert De Niro’s William Hale would have been a better guide.

The ending feels incredibly rushed. It’s an experimental take, but it comes out of nowhere. I don’t think it works.

I’m in the vast minority on “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Some have even awarded it perfect marks. So, if you have any inclination, I suggest you go and form your own opinion. If you do, you really should see it on the biggest screen you can find. Its visual aspects are unquestionably tremendous. Or you could wait and catch the film on Apple TV+ where you can break up the three-and-a-half-hour running time.

Scorsese is responsible for some of my favorite films. This just isn’t one of them.