To the surprise of no one, Killers of the Flower Moon is one of our most anticipated films of 2023. How could it not be? The crime epic is being directed by Martin Scorsese, bringing together both Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert DeNiro on the big screen for the first time together. So I was excited, but also wary of the almost three-and-a-half-hour runtime. Now that I’ve seen the movie, does Killers of the Flower Moon justify its meaty runtime and should you carve out time in your day to see it? Let’s find out.

Produced by Apple Studios, Killers of the Flower Moon is an adaptation of David Grann’s book of the same name. It stars DiCaprio as Ernest Burkhart, a WWI vet who returns home (DeNiro) to Oklahoma to work for his uncle, William Hale, who sometimes goes by the moniker King Hale. Hale is a public ally of the Osage nation, the wealthiest group of people in America per capita at that time. But Hale is more like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, looking to find ways to allow the Osage’s oil money to come to him and his family. The solution to get that money is to have other white men marry into the Osage nation, including Ernest and his brother Byron (Scott Shepherd, The Last of Us).

But Ernest doesn’t need his uncle’s guidance on that topic, as he’s genuinely fallen in love with Molly (Lily Gladstone). While they build their life together, unspeakable horrors fall upon the Osage people and we’re left shaking our heads at the casual indifference from the perpetrators. Despite the horrible acts committed against the Osage, Killers of the Flower Moon feels like it worked hard to represent the people. Before production began, Scorsese said this, to which I’d say the effort paid off:

We’re grateful to Apple, the Oklahoma Film and Music Office and The Osage Nation, especially all our Osage consultants and cultural advisors, as we prepare for this shoot. We’re excited to start working with our local cast and crew to bring this story to life on screen and immortalize a time in American history that should not be forgotten.

Oklahoma Film+Music

So let’s sing some praises to start. This is a movie you watch for the acting and all three leads absolutely crush it. Leo is great, as always, but I’d say the award-worthy stuff comes from DeNiro and Gladstone. I’ll confidently say this is DeNiro’s best work as an actor since Casino, back in 1995. He’s soft-spoken and his demeanour often is comforting and caring, but he has a dark and sinister mind and isn’t afraid of orchestrating murder in order to ensure his own livelihood. He’s like a specter, lurking over all these people and moving chess pieces on a board in order to get the outcome he desires, which is, of course, more money, while appearing to comfort the suffering Osage in public, to the point where the Osage call him a dear and trusted friend. It’s repellent and DeNiro fully commits.

Lily Gladstone, an unknown to me and I’m sure a lot of other audience members, will also be a surefire contender come award season. Both Molly and Ernest seem to love each other deeply but the relationship is built on lies and mistrust. Ernest knows full well the intentions of his uncle yet ends up playing the game nonetheless. Gladstone knows that the white men in town are after the oil money but sees Ernest as different from all the other snakes in town. She’s never blind to the bigger picture but love does make her blind to what’s in front of her. To say Molly goes through the wringer narratively speaking is an understatement and Gladstone shows the pain, the worry and the dread that Molly must be feeling over the years this movie covers.

The film also boasts an impressive supporting cast, with some actors only showing up for a few minutes of screen time. Two lawyers near the end of the movie, I won’t say the actors as I want you to be surprised too, delivered memorable performances but the best of the minor roles has to be Jesse Plemons as BOI agent Tom White. The book follows this character and the investigation much more and I do feel we needed a bit more of his character and the operation he ran with his crew but Plemons showcased yet again he’s an actor worth remembering.

Another star of the movie are the sets. These sets were beautiful, from the main street in town to the barber shop with its big windows and pool tables, to the houses of the leads. This world felt alive and real, with hundreds of extras really selling the illusion of a bustling town. You are so easily transported to the 20s and the cinematography just makes it all look great, with a lot of shadow and sepia tones to make it feel like an old photograph. Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, who did Barbie earlier this year and Scorsese’s The Irishman, really did a standout job here. In fact, some of the more metropolitan scenes reminded me of Boardwalk Empire, which Scorsese helped produce for HBO. Combine this with the crime/western vibe and you have quite the visual treat. Scorsese made good use of Apple’s $200 million budget, but I’d be surprised if this movie makes a profit considering its length (which limits the number of screens on a given day).

I don’t have an issue with the three-and-a-half-hour runtime (although my ass was feeling it in the last stretch), I think Killers of the Flower Moon used its screentime quite well. But that’s not to say the movie didn’t have pacing issues, it did. The movie doesn’t have that classic Scorsese feel to it, which is fine but it also highlights what makes a classic Scorsese film work so well. He usually keeps the momentum going throughout the movie whereas in Killers, I found the momentum would often come to abrupt halts then return to a much slower pace. Violence is also shown as quick bursts spliced into the narrative, which I found a bit odd after a while as it felt so impersonal. The ending, while a unique closer, was a bit messy due to a lot of moving pieces (you’ll see what I mean) and a lot of things that you, the audience member, have to call back on in your mind in real-time.

Around halfway through the movie, I thought that Killers of the Flower Moon was a better version of Scorsese’s own Gangs of New York. Both narratives feature Leo in the lead, a shady crime lord type that’s near to Leo’s character with bouts of violence peppered in. The two movies are not 1:1 by any means, but I found some of the narrative structure reminded me of that movie in a way. Killers of the Flower Moon may not be Scorsese’s best movie, but it’s one that I’m already mediating on thanks to its powerful performances and loving attention to detail. I think pacing is the main thing that holds this movie back from true masterwork, but this is still a strong recommendation from me, especially if you like Scorsese’s filmography.