Breathtaking landscapes, impressive performances, stunning 1920s sets and period costumes, greed-fueled murder plots, a majestic and evocative score, sensitivity to the Osage communities whose story the film portrays — all are in abundant evidence throughout Martin Scorsese’s new epic, “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Over the course of three and a half hours, Scorsese offers moment after seamless moment of gorgeous — and sometimes gruesome — filmmaking. He masterfully weaves together aerial vistas of unspeakably beautiful open spaces, visceral shots of Osage Indians being murdered or blown up in cold blood and entire scenes in which Osage characters and white characters speak to one another in the Osage language.
In the midst of marveling at the various pieces, however, I found some of the film’s core elements disappointing. That doesn’t make the wonderful parts less wonderful, but it certainly left me, as an Osage viewer, puzzling afterwards how a film with so much going for it could also come up short. More specifically, I found the film’s scant attention to U.S. federal policy toward Native Americans and the officials who carry it out to be a missed opportunity to show how bureaucracy has enabled Indigenous dispossession.
Read Full Article »
