Below you will find my review of the film, preceded by an account of my quest to get a ticket.
A detailed account of events leading up to the premiere:
The highly anticipated premiere of Martin Scorsese’s newest feature, Killers of the Flower Moon, was the nexus of the Cannes 2023 zeitgeist on Saturday. The Croisette rumbled with murmurings of excitement, and the streets were dotted with signs that desperately pleaded for spare ticket donations. Even under a ceaseless downpour of rain, a winding line of wide eyed Scorsese enthusiasts camped out all day in the last minute ticket line, praying for the stroke of luck that would land them a seat in Lumiere, mere feet away from some of the greatest actors and directors of all time.
I was one of those enthusiasts, and thankfully, I was granted entry into one of the biggest premieres in Cannes history.
My accomplishment did not come without sacrifice. Tickets to red carpet premieres are hard to come by for us lowly college students here in Cannes, and everybody knew that securing a ticket for Killers of the Flower Moon would be a miracle of biblical proportions. For this reason, all hopes were levied on the last minute line, where only a handful of tickets would be handed out based on the number of ticket cancellations and empty seats. I walked down to the Palais at 7:30 in the morning to line up for a premiere that wouldn’t start for another 11 hours. Naively, I assumed that my dedication was rare, and that I would be one of the first people in line.
I was not.
I arrived, horrified to discover that there were already about 25 early risers ahead of me. The group at the front of the line had been there since 3 in the morning. My hopes were already dashed. Were there really going to be more than 20 people cancelling a ticket to this exclusive Cannes red carpet premiere, attended by Scorsese, DiCaprio, and DeNiro, nearly 5 months before the film’s global release? Fat chance, but I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I gave up on this once in a lifetime opportunity, so I unfurled my umbrella and hunkered down.
By noon, over 4 hours into my wait and still 6 hours before the premiere, tension in the line began to rise. A lady walked up and down the line, rallying people to unify and stand in defense of the line’s integrity by banishing all those who tried to cut in front of us. I ruminated on our chances with the people in front and behind me, with whom I had become closely acquainted with by the end of this lengthy endeavor. The line began to condense, as people filled every gap in front of them to eliminate the possibility of somebody else stepping in. When the time finally came, the Cannes line attendants opened the gates in short spurts and then quickly closed them, as if they were a homeowner scared to let bugs into their living room.
In true Scorsese fashion, greed transformed this line of supposedly high class film connoisseurs into a pack of frenzied animals, ready to inflict violence on anybody in their way. The pack stampeded forward, and I bolstered myself to avoid being trampled. The prospect of wasting an entire day in line only to not get a ticket terrified me, and my heart pounded as I prayed for the gates to open once more. They did, and I squeezed inside. The gates closed behind me, and I realized I was one of the last three people to get in before they told everybody else to go home.
Exhilarated, I was rushed up the red carpet and into a seat in the theater. I watched Leonardo DiCaprio, Martin Scorsese, Robert DeNiro, and other stars like Jesse Plemons, Tobey Maguire, and Kirsten Dunst all file into the theater, which was of course abuzz with anticipation. The lights dimmed, the curtains pulled back, and right as the opening frame flashed onto the screen, I realized…
Holy shit. I am exhausted.
But I hadn’t waited in line all day for nothing. So I prepared myself for the three and a half hour odyssey I was about to embark on. When the lights finally came up, the twelve minute standing ovation had finished, and I was released into the warm Cannes night, I began my reflection on the movie. That has led me to this point, and now, I would like to share my thoughts on Killers of the Flower Moon below.
The Review
I would like to preface this review with two things. One, this will be a spoiler-free review. Two, despite the events I just described above, I will do my absolute best to keep my evaluation of the movie unbiased and separate from my experiences surrounding it.
Killers of the Flower Moon is the latest entry in the legendary filmography of Martin Scorsese, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert DeNiro, and Lily Gladstone. The film is set in 1920s Oklahoma in the land of the Osage Nation. After oil is discovered in the area, Osage people are murdered one by one under mysterious circumstances, sparking a major FBI investigation. The film primarily follows Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) as he returns from fighting in World War I. He is taken under the wing of his uncle, “King” (Robert DeNiro), who, as the name implies, is the most powerful man in the area. As murders spring up one by one, King encourages Ernest to court Molly (Lily Gladstone), a rich and beautiful Osage woman, because of her head rights to a large amount of land.
The trailer for Scorsese’s western-set crime epic was released only a couple of days before its Cannes premiere. In it, DiCaprio, in his delightfully entertaining southern accent, asks, “Can you find the wolves in this picture?” Despite what this provocation may imply about a mystery surrounding the plot, it is almost immediately apparent who the “wolves” in this picture really are. Scorsese does not hide the intentions of these characters for very long, at least on the surface. Instead, the film meticulously follows the string of murders that plague the Osage people largely from the perspective of the killers, while keeping the relationship between Ernest, Molly, and King at the center of the pandemonium.
Killers of the Flower Moon is the second Scorsese film in a row to breach the three hour mark, as he did previously with The Irishman. This film clocks in at a hefty 3 hours and 26 minutes, and while the pacing of the film is predominantly brisk, I don’t believe the narrative justifies the film’s length. As I previously mentioned, the film informs us early on who the wolves in this story are. It also makes us dreadfully aware that there is a flock of plump sheep directly in front of them, and that those sheep are almost completely defenseless. This makes the events that unfold even more disturbing and tragic, but it also eliminates a lot of the tension that usually surrounds these crime dramas, as the deterioration of the Osage feels inevitable and thus dragged out. The film follows the procedure of each murder nearly step by step, and so we are privy to each murder’s plan and subsequent execution. Though the violence does not always ensue as planned, it is never met with much resistance from the Osage people, and thus, the film’s plot can feel at times repetitive, predictable, and descriptive rather than intense. We spend literal hours watching the wolves circle and pick off the sheep with little challenge. Of course, each leg of the journey is populated by compelling drama and punctuated with exhilarating and signature Scorsese “whack em” moments that we all know and love, so none of this is to say that the film is extremely slow or boring. At this point in his career, Scorsese just seems more concerned with patiently exploring the humanity of his characters as they grapple with their fate than with constantly keeping the audience on the edge of their seat.
Scorsese’s American West is wholly representative of the power dynamics and infrastructure that has always allowed greedy white men to impose their will with little consequence, often at the expense of people like the Osage. For this reason, a lot of agency is taken from the Osage, and often the only thing that stands in the way of the murderers is their own greed and incompetence. The characterizations of Ernest, Molly, and King all reflect this theme very well. Leonardo DiCaprio gives one of his best performances in a long time as Ernest. He is funny, idiotic, despicable, and somehow sincere, which makes his character even more contradictory and captivating. DiCaprio masterfully keeps the connection, or disconnection, between Ernest’s heart and mind veiled and distanced throughout this lengthy examination, even though his character is anything but mysterious in his demeanor. This plays beautifully against Lily Gladstone’s Molly, who is quiet, observant, and intelligent. The result of their pairing creates a number of scenes in which DiCaprio hilariously and uncomfortably fills the air with a cacophony of empty words and half-truths, and we are left wondering how much truth Gladstone is able to, or wants to, discern through her piercing stare. All of this plays out under the watchful eye of DeNiro’s King, who is disturbingly calculating and two faced. DeNiro captures the phony bravado and feigned empathy of a man who feels untouchable extremely well, and his subtly threatening presence is felt consistently throughout the film, even when he isn’t involved in the scene at hand.
The film also casts a number of other notable stars, such as Jesse Plemons and Brendan Frasier, but Scorsese does not spare more than a handful of the film’s 206 minutes for them. Plemons enters the fold in the second half of the story as the FBI investigator, and his injection is a welcome one that disrupts the hierarchy and security that Ernest and King have operated in. Plemons is up to his usual tricks, delivering some hilariously dry lines that exude that timid, awkward charm he has become known for. Frasier comes into the film extremely late, and is even more sparsely used, but he performs well in the few times he is shown on screen. There is also a surprise cameo in the film, which Scorsese uses to frame the story in a wider context. I don’t think this contextualization is at all essential to the story, but it is stylized in a way that is unique and fresh, and this cameo is sure to induce grins throughout the theater when the time comes.
Scorsese’s direction is, of course, excellent. At this point in his career, Scorsese is unconsciously synchronized with the rhythm of a story, and he navigates the peaks and valleys with extreme control and confidence. Scorsese is fully aware of when to sit back and let the performances do the talking, and when to dazzle us with his newest creative flair. Everybody involved is acutely aware that they are watching a master at work. The cinematography of this film is also incredible. The film is a masterclass in the intricacies of dramatic daytime lighting, and Scorsese makes good use of shadows that somehow penetrate deep into each room under the unflinching Oklahoma sun. There are a number of wide shots track characters while simultaneously exposing the intimidating vastness of the western plains, and it is here where the sinister truth behind the great frontier is revealed. The “flower moon”, a term used by the Osage to describe the beautiful land around them, morphs into a large killing field right before our eyes, leaving any and all vulnerabilities exposed in the open air, ripe to be picked off by the wolves that circle about.
Some of the most stunning and impacting scenes occur when Scorsese allows us to see through the eyes of the Osage people. The film opens with one of these scenes, as the Osage discover oil and then express their fears about being overrun by the white man. The prophetic scene sets the tone for the rest of the narrative, but Scorsese is hesitant to follow through with this perspective as the plot moves forward. We are given plenty of insight into the minds of the wolves on their prowl, but the paranoid terror of the sheep sent to slaughter is given less focus. This perspective is still present, mostly through the eyes of Molly, but even she gets sidelined to a certain extent in the latter half of the film. Scorsese has always concerned himself with the machinations of the white collar criminals, but here he flirts with the perspective of the victims of those crimes, and some could argue that in this story, their perspective is just as compelling, if not more. If Scorsese had spent more time in the minds of the Osage community, we may be more aware of the paranoia, fear, and conflict that swirls around their ranks, and how they were restricted in their ability to resist the tragedies that befell them.
Therein lies the biggest issue I have with Killers of the Flower Moon. Scorsese assembles a great cast, who give great performances. The Oklahoma plains and the liquid gold that runs beneath them provide an excellent stomping ground for slimy Scorsese criminals to knock off anybody between them and fortune. The crime epic is disturbing, exhilarating, and funny at times, with themes surrounding white supremacy, power, and greed. However, we’ve seen a lot of those things from Scorsese before. He has achieved his legendary status by using these elements to create many of his previous masterpieces . It is a safe bet for him to recycle and reformat many of these elements, and of course nobody is going to complain about another fun entry into the Scorsese crime drama series. What is frustrating about this film, though, is that Scorsese teases us with something entirely fresh. Scorsese gives us brief glimpses the perspective of those who the crimes are inflicted upon, but too often reverts back to his comfort zone. This results in a film that underutilizes the contrast between the hunter and the hunted by heavily favoring the hunter’s point of view. If the film instead elected to split its focus more evenly between the “wolves” and the Osage, I think it would be easier to justify the runtime, but as is, the length feels like it was a gratuitous concession made to Scorsese so that he wouldn’t have to kill too many of his familiar darlings.
Killers of the Flower Moon will surely be well received by the public when it releases in October. The combination of a star-studded cast, dynamic performances, and masterful filmmaking will serve as yet another testament to the legendary artistry of Martin Scorsese. Audiences will have to decide for themselves where this film falls within the rest of Scorsese’s filmography, and there will undoubtedly be debate about the justification of the film’s length. In my opinion, the hype surrounding the film may skew audience expectations and reactions, but any film that is able to generate this much interest and fanaticism is undoubtedly a blessing to the culture as a whole. I will certainly be back in theaters to watch this movie again in the fall, and while I do believe the film has room to improve, I thoroughly enjoyed Killers of the Flower Moon. Scorsese’s latest film is by no means his magnum opus, but is still a wonderful exhibition of the visionary director’s mastery over dramatic crime epics that continue to captivate international audience’s with their darkness, wit, and timeless style.
Written by Michael Saccone