With appreciation to Lizzo for the song title “About Damn Time”, the title fits this review in two ways.
First and and foremost, God bless David Grann who wrote the original book and Martin Scorsese for adapting it with Eric Roth. Even more so, to decide instead of a police/FBI procedural to depict the interior relationships of Mollie and Earnest Burkhart. Scorsese realized that by telling one victim’s story, the collective audience would come to understand the complexity of racism and betrayal.
Second “About damn time” is it took me until today (one week after) to unpack my feelings about Killers of the Flower Moon”. I saw the three and a half hour movie 1 and quarter times. I was able to feel the emotion more the second time around as the film with its throbbing tom-tom pace is a lot of information, character and scenery to take in.
I would like to scream at the reviewers who came out of the gate and panned it as ‘soulless’ as I can’t imagine what human could walk out of this film and feel nothing. Others who said it was drab and dreary…yeh! So were the 1920’s in Oklahoma; count your blessings we live in more modern times!
Genius level acting in all of the portrayals and this is from someone who thinks Leonardo DeCaprio is an engima. I walked in not wanting to like him, but his performance is top notch. But what of their (DeNiro’s) frowns? Again, DeCaprio played a WWI vet and DeNiro a horribly corrupt racist, their characters in real life certainly weren’t inclined to smile. In fact, I’d even surmise that DeNiro wears a frown around in real life since he may be one of the most blessed, but yet astoundingly angriest men on the planet.
Lily Gladstone shows Mollie’s denial and helplessness and while the other actors were all terrific, standouts were: Tommy Schultz (Blackie), Ty Mitchell (John Ramsey), the men who portrayed the Shoun doctors (who may have descendants practicing in Sarasota-a riff on the cold doctor my Grandmother has) and last but not least, Jesse Plemons who had to tamp it way down, but did so in a beautiful minor role.
I’ll say my one tiny quibble: a line Brendan Fraser delivers at Leo which ends in ‘dumb boy’. I can’t get it out of my head, but it felt over the top and an eating the furniture performance.
The ending of the film was absolutely perfect and shows past America’s silly way of portraying historical tragedy.
Go see this film!
