January Movie Pick: 'Killers of the Flower Moon'

Over the past month, I've been watching a lot of Native American stories. It all started with Marvel's 'What If...?' featuring the newly born character Kahorri and continued with the five episodes of 'Echo.' Both of these heroes turned out to be great, although the second show wasn't quite as good. I'm afraid it could bring some negatives to the Native American community because it arouses negative connotations when it comes to mind in so many. I am sure that the better representation was done in 'What If...?' Season 2.

In addition to these two properties, I had the time to watch 'Killers of the Flower Moon,' directed by Martin Scorsese. Based on a book with the same title, inspired by a real-life moment in time, the movie unfolds its story over three and a half hours. We had planned to watch it over Saturday and Sunday nights, and much like 'Avatar: The Way of Water,' we didn't feel the passage of time. The story flows, and it was captivating. It took me a couple of days to gather myself after witnessing the displayed brutality. I needed some time to think about it. You think you know evil, and then something like that is presented to you, and you are in shock at how brutal people can be.

The problem I have with the movie comes with the knowledge that it is meant to be from the perspective of the Osage Nation. Yet, we barely see them, and we barely understand why they allow such an atrocity. I spent much more time with the villains of this story. How are these beautiful women going for these white men who are clearly after their money? How is it allowed that the wealth of the nation is controlled by the government, and they need permission to access it? The way Mollie has to almost beg for her money from the white bankers is ridiculous. I guess it's historical, and we had to see all the atrocities that were done to these people in the name of money. I listened to a press junket with Martin Scorsese that he sat for a whole 3 hours with the Osage Nation, and for those 3 hours, he learned so much about them. To be honest, I know he is incredible and all that, but he seems like the watered-down version of De Niro's William. 'I sat for 3 hours,' he says with the Natives, and now he is able to make a movie from their perspective? Saying that you want to show their point of view and only showing us how they are brutally killed one by one with no regard for gender or age is not enough. The movie lacks a real perspective because the previous version was bad and scrapped, and like Scorsese said, it lacks heart, and he came up with this mix. It is like if I say that I know the natives because I watched this movie (3 hours 29 minutes native perspective). Whatever he is the genius, right, who am I to have an opinion? The more I think about it, the more I am finding obvious problems, but let's continue.

From the beginning, a legend is spoken about a wolf, and the question is pondered: who is it? Even though the evil here is portrayed with human abilities, some emotions, including love, little by little, it becomes so dark and heavy. You see how this predominantly native land gets more and more filled with white people who are after their wealth. The way they are literally taking the land from its rightful owners is shown throughout the movie. In the beginning of the story, you see Natives taking their photos on the street, and there are a couple of whites sprinkled here and there. By the end of the movie, the ones taking photos are crowds of whites with the original native families killed. The wolves in human clothes, De Niro and DiCaprio, played these roles perfectly. They were so complex and mesmerizing to watch. Registering love in the vile behavior portrayed by DiCaprio's character Ernest is a master class of acting. And this name, Ernest, is an insult to injury. And watching De Niro portraying a friend of the nation was a realistic non-often seen in the movies' behavior. You sit there, wondering how this evil moves without notice. This story is based on a true, almost forgotten one, so I really appreciate Martin Scorsese taking time to tell it, even though perhaps someone more focused would have done a better job telling it.

The murders were brutal, reminded me of 'The Irishman,' and going into those dark corridors of so-called humanity that are appalling to watch always shook me to my core. The whites were vicious, playing friends and husbands to these people only to kill them behind their backs and in their sleep. Everyday people like me have no idea, and we do not think about this kind of evil in our ordinary lives. Evil that has existed, and this movie shines a light on it. This movie made me want to read the book so I can piece together what really happened. Thinking about it just brings more questions that need answers. Was Mollie really that naive and in love? Did she know about her husband, and how did she allow almost all of her family to fall under the hand of Ernest and his uncle William? She asked Ernest in the beginning if he is afraid of his uncle, and he was afraid of him. But obviously, she had an idea who this William really is, for her to ask that question. Why then are the native nations portrayed like these naive, almost dumb people that never learned their lesson, allowing themselves to be slaughtered? Seeing Mollie's sisters dying and the gruesome, bloody deaths they experienced was heartbreaking. I found myself so involved in the movie that I screamed at the TV, angry that Mollie took a lot of time to act.

Finally, the FBI showed up, and it really felt like competent people entered the building. The villains were not very smart, the Native Americans were acting naive, and finally, the FBI was born from this clash. In order to take control of the situation, they used various techniques. I like how they were acting, and the approach was effective; they quickly took hold of the situation and found the mastermind of this plan, William.

I enjoyed the film, and although I didn't become familiar with Native culture, it provided an incredible glimpse into this tragic real-world event that we rarely get to see. I love that the cast of 'Twilight' pops up in these stories; they were kind of lost, and I really get a kick out of seeing them again, especially in 'Echo.' I saw a lot of similarities between 'Echo' and 'Killers of the Flower Moon' in the way they were shot. Lilly Gladstone is a standout, and she deserves every nomination and win for portraying that poor woman. DiCaprio and De Niro are always a joy to watch, even playing the most vile characters. Seeing Jessie Plemons, John Lithgow, and Brendan Fraser is always a pleasure, even though their roles were small; they were memorable. And speaking of memorable, Tatanka Means playing the first FBI Native American agent was very interesting to see how he worked around this community and moved like a shadow, observing everything that those stupid villains allowed him to. I have some problems with the film, but overall, I never felt the length of the movie, and I appreciate seeing this part of history. Finding new exciting actors like Lilly Gladstone is a huge bonus for Scorsese. And I believe this is cinema.

Iliya Badev