Due to my schedule-not to mention its 3 ½ hour length-it wasn't until
last night that I had the pleasure of watching & now discussing the
most recent flick from new Letterboxd member Martin Scorsese. As has
happened before, when a popular new release isn't witnessed immediately
upon release, my opinion will inevitably be colored by the opinion of
others. With Killers, I knew that most on Letterboxd love the picture
but I saw differing opinions elsewhere.
On Twitter, at least one
person found it “self-indulgent” and thought DiCaprio constantly
scowled-the latter opinion I disagree with-and on another site someone I
know casually respects the film but thought it was a downer. At his
point in life, pictures about human suffering (this wasn't apparent to
me in the trailer—the movie is full of anguish and torment for the Osage
people, especially one character in particular) was not a genre he
wants to visit often. Truth be told, this probably will be like Raging
Bull for me in that revisits will be infrequent-if ever-although thank
goodness it was seen by me.
Regrettably, the Osage Indian Murders
was a topic I knew hardly a detail about before seeing the movie.
Likewise, the Tulsa Race Massacre (also in Oklahoma & happened
concurrently with those murders) was completely unknown to me until
several years ago. In short: the reservation the Osage live on was
discovered to have oil fields. They became rich, but white people acted
terrible so via marriage then deaths, they would get all that oil money.
If you are Native American, the movie might be quite the difficult sit;
I know some Indigenous peoples found Killers to be quite the ordeal.
Your mileage will vary; regrettably, white people in the past acted
atrociously in conquering the lands of those who had darker skin or
colonizing those people. Those sins are horrifying; hopefully in the
future white people can do better. But enough proselytizing from me.
Killers
is not an easy experience; what helped make it not a 3 ½ hour exercise
in endurance was the sobering reality that the events depicted were
based on a true story. There was a dimwitted SOB who was manipulated by
someone and he cause much mayhem/grief to too many people. We follow
DiCaprio as he moves to his uncle's estate, which is on Osage land in
Oklahoma. Leo falls in love w/ Lily Gladstone and throughout this
journey we encounter quite the variety of characters. It's never
difficult to follow & I was riveted despite the rough subject
matter.
The ending was rather, let's say, “unexpected.” Then
again, now I understand it was a recreation of an actual event so with
that context it is not so bewildering. In addition, even I was starting
to feel the length, although that may be my expectations and little to
do with the storytelling. Those that wish for more of the Osage
perspective-I wouldn't have minded that either. Otherwise, I hold little
complaint; the amount of time spent driving to the cinema & back
then the almost 4 hours in the cinema itself felt worthwhile. Of course I
have to praise the performances of DiCaprio and De Niro as they played
complex characters and at times the camera lingered on them so the
audience could witness the masterclass in acting in various scenes. Also
of course, I was blown away by Lily Gladstone; never having seen any of
her work before, she was tremendous in a difficult role.
The rest
of the cast delivered; this included various musicians in roles as
shady characters. As it has become a controversy in certain
circles-mainly, not Letterboxd-Brendan Fraser's small part... now, don't
expect me to see The Whale, like ever; it sounds like the sort of
picture that will turn me off. It's been ages since I've seen Fraser in
anything. He plays a lawyer—personally, I stereotype all lawyers from
that era to be boisterous and bombastic, which the character is in the
courtroom. On the other side of the coin, we also see him outside the
courtroom and while that character has to be forceful for a reason, he
isn't constantly YELLING. Henceforth, to me it was not a bad performance
or something that was needlessly LOUD.
Anyhow, I don't need to
say that the direction from Marty or the editing from Thelma Schoonmaker
were stunning, as they were. However, I do have to note the score from
the late Robbie Robertson, himself of First Nations heritage. I loved
what he created, and how it was perfect for the film. A shame he passed
away two months ago; the Academy are seen as stereotypical for good
reason, yet IMO it would be tough to create a better score (not to
mention awarding someone posthumously) or act better than Gladstone did
in the movie—I imagine both will receive those gold statues next year.
The
“Scorsese vs. comic book movies” debate is just tiresome now; while
it's fun to dunk on misguided fools like The Escape Pod podcast, the
whole argument is reductive and no one's mind will ever change. Myself, I
prefer the serious pictures that Marty does, including Killers of the
Flower Moon. It was an arduous journey—one that to me was worth taking
due to the teaching of a tragic moment in 20th century American history.
