Martin Scorsese
The Killers of The Flower Moon

Ok, no suspense regarding my judgment, I'll get straight to the point, and then let's try to reason. The film is excessively long, there's nothing to be done, it's not the only flaw, but it is certainly the main and most evident one. And it's a great shame because it is a must-see film, for the subject matter, for highlighting one of the many semi-unknown stories of racial crimes committed by white North American colonizers against the natives, but I would say more generally for yet another story of the strong overpowering the weak. And the three-hour and 26-minute duration, besides being an intrinsic flaw, as we will see later, risks discouraging most of the audience when instead this story should have the widest possible dissemination. Because it is a great film, directed by one of the masters of cinema, with an exceptional cast, where a robust performance by De Niro, something perhaps not seen in years, stands out. It's a sumptuous portrayal, in his style, of a character as mellifluous as he is diabolical and ruthless, alongside a Di Caprio who is equally believable in a part that is anything but easy, portraying a somewhat simple and very limited character, caught between a naivety that is almost innocent at times and a feeling of love that is too foolish and immature, complemented by the beautiful and reassuring presence of a great Lily Gladstone, in a role that might have needed more depth, completing the overall picture.

But even the finest wine can be easily ruined if you water it down. And that's what Scorsese did, diluting this great story with a first part that is too long and repetitive. The entire film moves forward in a linear manner (except for brief flashbacks in the second part, which are nonetheless just descriptive, not revealing) always with the same uniform pace, from scene to scene, keeping the viewer's attention alive, but at the same time becoming monotonous, particularly in the sense of mono-tone, i.e., maintaining the same level of dramatic tension, without ups and downs, plot twists, or strong moments. This, if you will, is a characteristic present in many other Scorsese masterpieces (from Goodfellas to Casino), showing with a certain detachment, I would almost dare say akin to a crime report, the most heinous crimes. And the mechanism usually works, as long as the narrative development is at least varied. What happens instead in the first two hours of this film is essentially the reiteration of the same type of crime, with the only variation being the execution method (poisoning, gunshot, explosion, etc.), without substantial changes or interspersing it with moments of greater depth, such as maybe the family dynamics of Di Caprio (which are ultimately little clarified despite the many scenes available), the role of the tribal chiefs (who reappear at a certain point in the film, after an endless series of suspicious deaths and when one had practically forgotten their presence), other characters that are little more than sketched (the envoy to Washington, the investigator, the sister's husband who blows up) and that would have needed more space, perhaps by reducing the time dedicated to the preparation and execution of the crimes.

At that point, the arrival of the FBI certainly cannot be greeted like the Seventh Cavalry in Stagecoach; rightly, Scorsese maintains the same wavelength, and even the investigation progresses with the same rhythm previously set. But here, it's appropriate; from there on, the film proceeds without major hitches until the conclusion of the story. The only flaw, in my opinion, is the final radio gimmick, which seemed completely out of place and also a bit cloying. I would have preferred a more classic closure, with explanatory final writings, perhaps accompanied by photos of the real protagonists of the era. But this is just a detail that does not undermine the value of the entire operation carried out by Scorsese. It is still an important film, especially for the aspects of historical truth I initially listed, to which a nice and substantial trim in the first part would have greatly benefited.