Killers Of The Flower Moon (2023) Dir: Martin Scorsese
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It is no secret that the history of the United States of America is typified by the colonial conquest of the European settlers, at the expense of the native Americans who were there before. Martin Scorsese's latest crime Western is based on the book of the same name by David Grann, and details some of that horrid history, over the course of a whopping three and a half hours.
Those three and a half hours are an issue - the film was too long. This is an issue that Scorsese routinely has. He seems unable to edit down his films. I understand that there was a lot of story to tell, but my goodness, did he draw it out. The film's pacing was just too slow.
The story itself was interesting, and kept me engaged, for the most part. It was a pretty harrowing narrative, and while I do feel it was a positive to see a film highlighting the plight of the native American people, it was frustrating that it was still a very white-centric story.
If there's one thing Scorsese seems to love, it's gangster-like violence, presented in a gratuitous, explicit way. I appreciate the intention to be realistic and frank, but at times it gets to be a little much. I'm not sure it was completely necessary, but that might just be me.
Visually, I think the film's makeup, hair and costume designs were wonderful. I'm no expert, but they felt very authentic. The set design and general mise-en-scène were all very satisfying, without being spectacular or overbearing.
Leonardo DiCaprio was supposed to have given a career-defining performance, but I personally wasn't that fussed. I think he's provided far superior performances, especially in Tarantino works. Don't misconstrue, he gave a very good account of himself, but, for his high standards, it was nothing special.
Lily Gladstone was ethereal. I believe she outclassed everyone else in the film by quite some distance, including the two legendary actors she co-starred with. I found her believable, sincere and very emotive. Her little mannerisms felt entirely genuine, and I found myself completely enthralled with her as a character.
Robert De Niro provided a perfectly acceptable display, as one of the key characters in the film. However, similarly to DiCaprio, I didn't particularly think it was an especially notable performance. It was very solid, he acted well, but I wasn't blown away, or anything like that.
Other noteworthy members of the cast included Jesse Plemons - who I am actually quite fond of, John Lithgow - who gave one of his best performances in quite some time, albeit in a minor role, Brendan Fraser - again in a minor role and Cara Jade Myers, who I thought was very enjoyable for the screentime she had.
Overall, while this was certainly a good film, I can't say it was a great one. It was far too long, it had the pacing of a snail with asthma, and it didn't truly feel like a sincere attempt at portraying the plight of Native Americans, as much as it did the explosive escapades of manipulative white men.
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