“Killers of the Flower Moon” is a story-telling masterpiece Another dark chapter in American history superbly told

I did not think that I would see another cinematic masterwork like “Oppenheimer” this year. But Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” is an equally brilliantly- executed film. Using multiple narrative techniques, the movie eschews simple exposition in favor of an often meandering tale. The filmmakers’ commitment to doing right by the Osage Nation adds a welcome authenticity to this tragic story.

The film is based on true-life events that occurred in the early part of the 20th century in Oklahoma. By a quirk of fate, the Osage, who had purchased their own reservation land when forced to move to the Sooner State, were made wealthy by the discovery of oil. Treated in a patronizing way by the U.S. government who appointed “guardians” for them, they began to be systematically exploited by the dominant white culture.

Things took a turn for the worse as unscrupulous agents tried to acquire the Osage “headrights” to oil through various means. Intermarriage and subsequent death of a spouse was one route to ill-gained wealth. The Osage were systematically poisoned and murdered in what became known as the Reign of Terror.

Justice was slow in coming from the federal government. The FBI, led by Agent Tom White (Jesse Plemons), eventually brings to trial the two protagonists, Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his uncle William “King” Hale (Robert De Niro), of the story.

This is the crux of the tale. But included in this feature is the love story between Ernest and his wife Mollie (Lily Gladstone). It is a complicated relationship, as Ernest seems to honestly love her. Yet on the other hand, under the domination of his uncle, he also is poisoning his spouse with tainted insulin injections.

Scorsese does a masterful job depicting the conflicting natures of the two main white characters. What Burkhart and Hale do to the Osage is absolutely evil. Yet in their own minds, they remain convinced that they are not bad people.

Hale is regarded by the Osage as one of their benefactors and allies. He cultivates this relationship. At one point, he frighteningly comments that the Osage are a dying civilization and that he is helping them to reach their final end with dignity.

Burkhart is equally conflicted in his feelings for his wife. We see their courtship unfold. They have children together. They seem happy when together, even as Mollie’s sisters are being murdered with Burkhart’s help.

When Burkhart’s uncle encourages him to contaminate her insulin to “slow her down,” Ernest systematically begins poisoning her while still seeming to express concern for her deteriorating state.

I am not sure that I have ever seen a more accurate portrayal of how human beings can deceive themselves. The detailed character studies here are worthy of written literature.

While DiCaprio and De Niro each give one of their best performances, Lily Gladstone as Mollie gives a superbly nuanced portrayal. She gets to run the gamut of emotions as Burkhart’s wife. The scene where she asks Ernest if he contaminated her insulin is incredible. Almost certainly she will receive an Oscar nomination for this role.

The film’s structure uses many styles to convey the narrative. These include voiceover, newsreel footage, the set of a radio program, and the reading of a book. The production notes state that Scorsese’s team created some of the newsreel footage. But there are clips of the Tulsa Greenwood massacre that I was not sure were a re-creation.

But as you watch the film, it is edited in a way that challenges the viewer to invest in the story. Things are often not routinely told in an expository way. Sometimes I was left wondering what the purpose of including a particular scene was. The screenplay can jump from a scene of violence to one of family life. Yet as the credits roll, there is an almost Zen-life feeling of satisfaction in a tale well-told. The ending scene is so perfect that it took my breath away.

The inclusion of the Tulsa footage brings up the fact that the dominant American culture has hidden unpleasant episodes in American history. David Grann, who wrote “Killers of the Flower Moon,” brought the Osage murders to national attention through his bestselling book. But one has to ask why these stories about minorities in American culture are routinely suppressed. It threatens our collective faith in what we are being told and how poorly our educational system is teaching American history.

Scorsese and his team worked with the Osage to make sure that their culture was respected and portrayed as accurately as possible. In the production notes, there are attestations from tribal members to that effect. While not every Osage role was portrayed by a member of the Osage tribe, they were portrayed by members of other Nations. The inclusion extended to hiring people for behind-the-scenes jobs as well.

I should note here that I have seen the 1959 movie “The FBI Story.” In that work, Jimmy Stewart is Agent Tom White. A portion of the picture is about the Osage murders. The fact that the film was made with the cooperation of the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover is its own commentary as to its authenticity. This also was made at a time when the collective movie community’s depiction of Native Americans lacked sensitivity, to say the least.

The score was composed by the late Robbie Robertson. I did not know that his mother was Native American nor that he lived on the Six Nations Reserve in Canada as a youth. What really struck me is how he could convey a sense of palpable menace with a few notes of music.

In any case, at over 3 hours, this is a challenge to sit through at the theater. You may want to wait for it to stream. But it is a must-see picture for any film buff.

5 out of 5 stars

At the turn of the 20th century, oil brought a fortune to the Osage Nation, who became some of the richest people in the world overnight. The wealth of these Native Americans immediately attracted white interlopers, who manipulated, extorted, and stole as much Osage money as they could before resorting to murder. 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” is an epic western crime saga, where real love crosses paths with unspeakable betrayal. Also starring Robert De Niro and Jesse Plemons, “Killers of the Flower Moon” is directed by Academy Award winner Martin Scorsese from a screenplay by Eric Roth and Martin Scorsese,

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Jesse Plemons, Lily Gladstone, Tantoo Cardinal, John Lithgow, Brendan Fraser, Cara Jade Myers, JaNae Collins, Jillian Dion, William Belleau, Louis Cancelmi, Tatanka Means, Michael Abbot Jr., Pat Healy, Scott Shepard, Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson
Director: Martin Scorsese
Writers: Eric Roth, Martin Scorsese
Based on the book “Killers of the Flower Moon” by David Grann