Martin Scorsese’s latest masterpiece, Moonflower Killers is a long-awaited western that brings together two of the director’s favorite actors to bring this story of how the West was truly won to the big screen. Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro have worked with Scorsese separately many times; in gritty Americana pieces that have received widespread critical acclaim.
Co-writing the screenplay with the legendary Eric Roth, Scorsese has taken the story made famous by the true story of the Osage murders in David Grann’s book of the same name.
Movie fans have been waiting for seven years to see this finally come to fruition, but if the response to the film’s first screening at the Cannes Film Festival in May of this year is anything to go by, the 206 minute long epic is definitely worth the time. wait.
Does Moonflower Killers compare with other films made by Scorsese and De Niro, such as The casino and the Irish? Or the epics of Scorsese and DiCaprio like New York Gangs and wolf of wall street? While people may not rush to play an online poker game due to inspiration like The casinothere is much to be said for the portrayal of how indigenous populations have been treated by the white man who is advancing in search of that black gold.
In this article, we’ll take a look at what the movie is about, and what critics are saying about it, ahead of its general release in October 2023.
the plot
Leonardo DiCaprio plays Ernest; a man looking to make a fortune and settle down. Coming to stay with his uncle Hale (Robert De Niro), Ernest marries a member of the Osage tribe to gain access to the oil rights under his land.
This is a love story, but it’s also a stark tale of greed and morality that tells the true story of what happened to the 20 Osage tribesmen who died over a five-year period. While the original book focused on the investigation of the burgeoning Bureau of Investigation (the forerunner of the FBI), the film is more about the development of relationships deep in Oklahoma, bringing home the shocking violence with the use of a dark and insidious rhythm. .
It’s a western, in the truest sense of the term, but it’s also a Scorsese movie, so you can expect a black tragedy where De Niro and DiCaprio are accomplices in multiple murders.
historical accuracy
What happened to the Osage tribe is part of a saga that is mostly unheard of: We know that the indigenous peoples of the Americas were driven from their fertile lands to the less fruitful areas.
This is a movie that’s not afraid to look at what really happened to those people who were relocated like that; the “Osage Reign of Terror” is just one example of the quiet erosion in the way we view what happened in Western industrialization.
The Osage tribe moved to a part of Oklahoma that was full of oil, making them filthy rich. They traveled in chauffeured vehicles and lived the high life, until members of the tribe began dying of what was described as a “debilitating disease.” Even when two tribesmen were found with gunshot wounds, the government turned a blind eye and eventually sent an agent (Tom White, played by Jesse Plemons) to investigate.
The reception
The first display of Moonflower Killers took place in Cannes, where she was greeted with a nine-minute standing ovation as the curtain came down.
This level of adoration, however, isn’t something Scorsese’s films have ever been known for: Although he’s directed some of the biggest American films centered on crime, deceit, and what it really means to be American, the films themselves they’ve never been made for the Cannes crowd.
Yet the combination of darkness, developing relationships, and an unapologetic look at what really happened during this dark period in American history have made it a sharp, if drawn-out epic. Other critics who have gotten to see the film have also been unanimous in their support for this film, and when it does release, the anticipation and early response should make it a box office sensation.
Shot to be a throwback to ’70s and ’80s Westerns, it’s a cinematic marvel in visual terms, but it’s the film’s undeniable toughness that gives it a whole new perspective.
Scorsese may be 80 years old now, but the visionary director has balanced this innovative and unexpected film to be more love story than crime procedural, sticking to the facts and giving us a look at what really happened to those members of the tribe.
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