This film had an enormous amount of buzz, and it was a darling of the professional critics. The runtime alone dissuaded me from watching it initially, and now, having seen it, I feel confident that you could see two better films in the same enormous span of 206 minutes. Perhaps if I'd gone in with lower expectations, I would have enjoyed it more.
On the plus side, Killers of the Flower Moon is gorgeously shot and features a terrific score. The acting from De Niro and DiCaprio is, as expected, terrific, but it's Lily Gladstone as Mollie Burkhart who steals the show. Despite the length, I do think the movie keeps your attention throughout. It creates a wonderfully realized world for its early 20th-century setting and features a wide cast of interesting secondary characters. Scorsese is, after all, a master storyteller.
For the negatives, the movie features no real character development or plot surprises. Early on, it signals right where it's going, and then it goes there. The social commentary isn't remotely subtle. At one point, a character actually says it's easier to convict a man of kicking a dog than killing an Indian; there are explicit (and vocalized) parallels to the Tulsa massacre; the KKK marches in a parade.
You get the idea. Indeed, you would have to engage in active avoidance not to get it. By the end of the movie, I felt as though I'd watched a well-shot, well-acted documentary about greed, racism, and historical injustice, which is fine and all, but it didn't make for the powerhouse drama that people kept billing the film to be.
On the plus side, Killers of the Flower Moon is gorgeously shot and features a terrific score. The acting from De Niro and DiCaprio is, as expected, terrific, but it's Lily Gladstone as Mollie Burkhart who steals the show. Despite the length, I do think the movie keeps your attention throughout. It creates a wonderfully realized world for its early 20th-century setting and features a wide cast of interesting secondary characters. Scorsese is, after all, a master storyteller.
For the negatives, the movie features no real character development or plot surprises. Early on, it signals right where it's going, and then it goes there. The social commentary isn't remotely subtle. At one point, a character actually says it's easier to convict a man of kicking a dog than killing an Indian; there are explicit (and vocalized) parallels to the Tulsa massacre; the KKK marches in a parade.
You get the idea. Indeed, you would have to engage in active avoidance not to get it. By the end of the movie, I felt as though I'd watched a well-shot, well-acted documentary about greed, racism, and historical injustice, which is fine and all, but it didn't make for the powerhouse drama that people kept billing the film to be.