Killers of the Flower Moon is Martin Scorsese at his best, and worst (Review)

Martin Scorsese is a legend, but Killers of the Flower Moon is a mixed bag.

Coming from someone who adores The Irishman, it's sad to report that Scorsese's latest doesn't live up to his high bar. From a production perspective, Killers of the Flower Moon is one of his best. But his ambition bites the nails of success, as this overlong, self-indulgent story gets in its own way. That's despite great leading performances from Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, Robert De Niro, and Jesse Plemons.

Killers of the Flower Moon review

It all begins with the runtime. Sitting at a mammoth 206 minutes — three minutes shorter than The Irishman — Killers of the Flower Moon is a behemoth to sit through. The biggest issue isn't the runtime itself, but the story's pacing.

Say what you want, but The Irishman spanned the entire life story of Frank Sheeran (also played by De Niro). The reason the three-and-a-half hour runtime works is because you see everyone enter and exit the man's life before he faces his mortality. In the case of Killers of the Flower Moon, it feels like self-indulgence that's causing the elongated runtime and not purpose. Yes, it has a large-scale story, but the inconsistencies of the pacing kill any momentum Scorsese builds.

It all begins when Ernest Burkhart (DiCaprio) returns from the war (he was a chef). Dubbed a “war hero” by his uncle, William King Hale (De Niro), he's taken under his wing immediately. Whilst adjusting to his new home life, which includes robbing members of the Osage tribe and driving taxis, he meets Mollie (Gladstone). He quickly falls head over heels for her, and the two wed soon after. But King's intentions become clear soon after, and Ernest is tasked with a choice between the love of his wife and his father.

The King of Filmmaking

The good thing is, Scorsese's filmmaking status is never in question with Killers of the Flower Moon. To my recollection, this is the Goodfellas director's first swing at a Western. Perhaps he was long overdue to make one, but he still retains his signature touches that no number of Southern drawls can overtake (despite De Niro's best swing at portraying a significantly less annoying version of Tom Hanks in Elvis).

There are long takes, people getting whacked, and FBI meddling that are present in so many of Scorsese's features. A new setting and genre doesn't erase that. At its core, Killers of the Flower Moon is a crime film, and that's right up the filmmaker's alley.

He is assisted by perhaps the greatest below-the-line work done on his films. From the Fairfax town to the ranches, all of the sets are stellar and Rodrigo Prieto — who was the DP of Barbie earlier this year — continues his hot streak with Scorsese. He has been the DP of Scorsese's films since The Wolf of Wall Street, which has been a game-changer.

The late Robbie Robertson of The Band composed the score. Having not known this until after viewing the film, it all clicks. There's a haunting usage of string instruments, particularly a guitar, throughout Killers of the Flower Moon. Its eerie nature adds to Ernest's growing paranoia throughout the film.

The all-star cast

Leonardo DiCaprio, who has grown accustomed to the “go big or go home” cliché in recent years, hasn't been this good in a while. He portrays a lot with his face (as Al Pacino said in Scarface, “The eyes, Chico — they never lie”), as the stress, gaslighting, and guilt wears on him throughout the runtime of Killers of the Flower Moon. DiCaprio is one of the best actors working today with lots of range. However, it's nice to see a more restrained performance from the actor. It feels like his performance as Ernest is a throwback to his earlier work in some ways.

Then you have Robert De Niro, who I thought was good in The Irishman. It wasn't as good as his peak with Scorsese, such as The King of Comedy of Taxi Driver, but there was an earnestness that only a De Niro in the twilight of his career could channel. He's hilariously over-the-top at times in Killers of the Flower Moon, though never to the point of being a distraction as the aforementioned Hanks was in Elvis. Both had Southern drawls, but the key difference is one knew how to still portray a character and not a caricature.

Lily Gladstone got a lot of Oscars hype after the Cannes premiere. She gives the most physical performance of anyone in the cast, even more than DiCaprio. As Mollie's health worsens, she becomes bedridden. Through the combination of some great makeup and Gladstone's conviction, she gives a heart-wrenching performance. It's not a loud performance — in fact, Mollie's a very soft-spoken character — but is still the best female performance in a Scorsese film since Margot Robbie in The Wolf of Wall Street.

Scorsese's equivalent to MCU cameos

Other recent Scorsese favorites make their way into Killers of the Flower Moon. He'd hate this comparison, but seeing some recent familiar faces to his work like Jesse Plemons — who starred in The Irishman as Jimmy Hoffa's stepson son — and Louis Cancelmi are the closest he'll get to cheer-worthy MCU-like cameos. The reunion of Scorsese and DiCaprio and Scorsese and De Niro is well-documented. Going forward, seeing more of Plemons and Cancelmi would also be welcomed.

Both get their moments — Cancelmi is particularly funny in his courtroom scenes — but Plemons really gives the film a much-needed spark. While the synopsis of the film suggests a large part of Killers of the Flower Moon chronicles the investigation of the Osage murders, that's far from the truth. In fact, Tom White (Plemons), the BOI agent sent to investigate the murders, doesn't come along until the last hour.

And if not for Plemons, this last hour would be a wash — especially given its sudden shift into a courtroom drama. These scenes have always been the weakest parts of Scorsese's crime flicks (perhaps explaining why they never last long). The investigation itself uncovers a lot of what the audience knows, so you're waiting on the house of cards built by King and Ernest to come crashing down.

Should you watch Killers of the Flower Moon?

It's hard to not recommend a Martin Scorsese picture, as he'd say. However, Killers of the Flower Moon works on a technical level more than anything. Yes, the performances are great, and yes, the film is gorgeous to look at. But the self-indulgence hinders a film that didn't need an epic runtime to be an epic story. The last hour could've been more focused — a sentiment that remains true in a lot of the prior two-and-a-half hours up to that point.

This is probably his weakest film since Shutter Island, which says a lot about Scorsese as a filmmaker. I just don't think you need to rush out to see it and can wait for its eventual Apple TV+ release.

Grade: C+

Killers of the Flower Moon will be released on October 20.