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. The string of brutal crimes – which came to be known as the Reign of Terror – raged on until the FBI, led by a 29-year-old J. Edgar Hoover, stepped in to unravel the mystery.
Based on a true story and told through the improbable romance of Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Mollie Kyle (breakout star Lily Gladstone), KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON is an epic western crime saga, where real love crosses paths with unspeakable betrayal. This staggering piece of cinema, based on David Grann’s broadly-lauded bestselling book, also stars Robert De Niro, Jesse Plemons, Brendan Fraser, and John Lithgow.
R, 2h 26m.
"This is in part a movie about how the bootstrapping American ethic lends itself to organized crime among the enterprising, and in part an uneasily self-reflective questioning of turning people's real-life trauma into entertainment. It’s magnificent." – Vox
"It’s Gladstone who provides the film's centre of gravity. She gives one of the most extraordinary performances by a woman in any of Scorsese's movies. She is serene but not saintly; a figure of tragedy with a fire in her belly." – Independent (UK)
"KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON is to be savoured as elevated cinema, each frame a picture moving towards a goal. Not just in the more bravura camera sweeps, but the very construction of even the most – deceptively – simply-staged scenes." – Screen International
A fascinating companion piece to THE IRISHMAN: another soaringly ambitious, balefully riveting act of American national-historical vivisection, carried out within the framework of one of the signature American genres." – Daily Telegraph (UK)
"A superbly performed descent into a nightmarish chapter in the history of American capitalism." – Film Companion
"KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON is vast and vital in its scale, purpose and emotional scope, a Western-thriller and ensemble piece that is every bit a Scorsese crime picture as one can dare to imagine." – TheWrap