La note américaine

I never heard of Osage Nation before this. It was a 3 hour 26 minute education not just of the oil wealth and of American Indian culture but of sensitive filmmaking crafted so beautifully Michelangelo would have cried. Lily Gladstone has a classic, timeless, renaissance Madonna face and Robbie Robertson's tender score embellished her sensitive performance perfectly. True to Mr Scorsese's form, it ran so long and needed a deus ex machine ending that while innovative, brought (for me) the film to a premature end. Dessert was served too soon. Otherwise, I could not say a bad thing about this show. Mr Scorsese, I wish you a very long life so you can continue your master craft for mere mortals like me for a long time to come.

This is a very good movie, but it could have been told in an hour less. The material is grim, but I guess that's part of the story telling.

I can't understand why this couldn't have been done in 2 hours. The plot didn't warrant it, and the acting almost held it up. But we could all see where this was going.

The court sequence was way too long and muddled the nature of the story. Is it an historical account of what happened to these poor people? Is it a story about duplicity in a relationship? Is it about greed and human nature? Is it about psychopaths? Or a court room drama?

For me, it would have been an 8/10 if it didn't drag on unnecessarily. Great acting. Great story. Just drawn out.

First things first. There is absolutely no need for this to be 3½ hours long. It follows the story of the ambitious "Ernest" (Leonardo DiCaprio) who arrives at the Osage home of his venal uncle "King" (Robert De Niro) who encourages him to ingratiate himself with the wealthy, indigenous, population. He ends up meeting and driving the independent, no-nonsense, "Mollie" (Lily Gladstone) and after a while she starts to fall for his charismatic charms, they fall in love and marry. Though he does love his wife, "Ernest" proves to be a rather fickle and violent man who loves money more - and at the behest of his outwardly benign relative starts to implement schemes that will ensure the rights to the oil well heads move swiftly - and frequently brutally - to more "suitable" owners. This sudden spate of "accidents" and killings and the prudent action of the fearful local council alert the authorities in Washington who despatch a team of FBI agents led by the tenacious "White" (Jesse Plemons) to get to the bottom of things. Perhaps the "King" house of cards might now be becoming just a but precarious? DiCaprio is very effective here. He plays well a man who juggles internal demons and conflicts as he is cleverly manipulated by an on-form, slightly menacing, De Niro. It's Gladstone who steals the show for me, though. She plays the role of the decent and loving - but shrewd and savvy - "Mollie" strongly. As she starts to become a victim of her husband's avarice she exudes a sense of desperation that is both pleading and dignified and her struggle is potently illustrative of just how far the "white" man was prepared to go to get to - and keep - the money. The film is beautifully shot with a plausible look that helps generate for the audience a true sense of just how this outwardly genteel and civilised society was really anything but and the writing clearly interweaves the clandestine aspects of the the plot with the more noble ones. Perhaps sacrilegious to say, though, but at times it does really drag. I felt it could easily have lost an hour, condensed the story and immersed us more quickly in the characterisations and not really suffered. It's a good film, but it's not a great film and unlike Scorsese's far better "Irishman" (2019), I'm not at all sure I will rush to watch it again.

The film is ultimately hampered by its miscasting and excessive length.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro are both undeniably talented actors, but they are simply too old to play their respective roles. DiCaprio is 47 years old, but he is supposed to be playing a man in his early 30s. De Niro is 79 years old, and he is supposed to be playing a man in his early 60s. The age difference is distracting and makes it difficult to believe in their characters.

The film's runtime of 206 minutes is also excessive. The story could have easily been told in 2.5 hours or less. The film's slow pace and meandering plot make it feel much longer than it actually is.

This is my fifth??? Martin Scorsese movie, so I was expecting to like it since I liked/loved most of his other works. My verdict: yes, I really like this one too. I have to note that the cinema I watched it in had a pretty bad sound system and a few times I couldn't hear characters whispering. So I might rate this even higher on a future rewatch, hopefully on Apple TV soon.

Killers of the Flower Moon is based on a book, which is based on a true and forgotten story of the Osage Nation in the 1920s.

All the cast members really did great, which is an understatement. This is the first I see of Lily Gladstone, and she's just superb. Leonardo di Caprio, my favorite in this movie, is at the top of his game as well, and Robert de Niro is unsurprisingly amazing too. Despite a three-hour run, the story feels well-paced and doesn't really drag much. The story is also really distressing in some parts as well and this might be his most brutal film yet. I really cannot forget it, some of those scenes are still stuck in my mind and still makes me feel a bit emotional. I also love the minimal use of score, makes things feel more...I dunno...raw?

I also love the ending, very creative. I highly recommend for you to watch this.