Grade: (9.2/10)
Killers of the Flower Moon tells the real-life story of William King Hale’s murderous plot against the Osage Nation in 1920s Oklahoma.
Plot (47/50)
Despite an above-average runtime, the film’s steady pace is never disrupted. It tracks its main plot points through three acts that make it a relatively easy watch. In the first act, we’re introduced to the Osage Nation and key characters like Hale, Ernest, and Mollie. Ernest and Mollie’s marriage brings the film into the second act, where Hale begins executing his plan to kill off Mollie’s family. Finally, in the third act, when Hale is on the verge of achieving his goal, his plan falls apart. The aftermath brings about a number of somber lessons.
Act I
The film opens with a sequence detailing the state of the Osage Nation. They had been forced out of Kansas into Oklahoma, where they would finally settle. Along the way, they had, of course, lost much. They were powerless in the face of continued encroachment by white settlers and could not do much in the face of their children’s assimilation. That would all change when oil was discovered on their land. Their fortune changed overnight as they became rich beyond their wildest imagination. Unfortunately, they would soon learn that their newfound wealth would bring about more suffering.
In the aftermath of WWI, a man named Ernest Burkhart came to the Osage Nation to live with his uncle, William King Hale. Hale owns a ranch and employs Byron Burkhart, Ernest’s brother. He’s well-respected among the Osage for his kindness and care for the native people. He also has friends in high places, including the sheriff’s office. Those connections enable him to engage in shady business dealings without having to face the repercussions. He takes Ernest in not out of kindness, but as part of a scheme targeting the headrights of Mollie’s family.
Ernest gets to know Mollie after serving as her taxi. The two legitimately fall in love and are married soon after. This puts Hale’s plan in motion. He had been targeting the wealth of the Osage Nation for years, but this was his greatest conquest yet. His heinous operation involved murdering various Osage in a manner that did not draw suspicion. That meant using poison over an extended period of time or, in some cases, hiring criminals to murder his targets outright. Now, his sights were set on Mollie and her family.
Act II
At this point, there are five living members of the family: Lizzie (the mother), Mollie, Minnie, Anna, and Rita. Minnie is the first to be murdered. Her death is attributed to wasting illness, but she had actually been poisoned by Hale. Anna is the next to be murdered. She’s shot by Kelsie with assistance from Byron under the instruction of Hale, of course. Her murder is attributed to her hostile attitude and frequent drunken state. Next up is Lizzie, who had been sick for a while but was also being poisoned at Hale’s instruction. All the while, Hale continues masquerading as a benevolent friend of the Osage.
And while he’d done a good job of preserving his image, the death toll had grown to the point that it could not be ignored any longer. Natives were dropping like flies, and there were no investigations into their deaths. This prompts an emergency meeting of the Osage council whereby they decide to take action. They raise the necessary funds to send a representative to D.C. so he can lobby Congress. Mollie hires a private detective in parallel. Minnie’s first husband, Bill Smith, who was now married to Rita, also starts an investigation of his own.
It seems as if the walls are closing in on Hale, but he responds with even more violence to keep his cover. The Osage representative is brutally murdered in D.C. at Hale’s instruction, of course. Mollie’s private detective is beaten by a group of thugs led by Ernest. This is enough to scare him off. With those two out of the way, Hale can continue with his plan. He sends Ernest to hire an explosives expert. Soon after, Bill Smith and Rita are caught in an explosion that flattens their house and ends their lives.
Act III
At this point, the only thing standing between Hale and immense wealth is Mollie’s death. Ernest had been poisoning Mollie’s insulin shots for some time. As a result, her health had deteriorated significantly. She was devastated by the murders of her family members and appalled by the lack of investigations. This prompted her to journey to D.C. despite her condition. There, she pleaded for support from President Coolidge. Shortly after, the BOI would send a group of agents, led by Tom White, to investigate the murders.
It doesn’t take long for White to conclude that Hale is behind the murders. Once he gathers enough evidence, her brings Ernest in for questioning. Ernest initially denies any wrongdoing, but after learning of Blackie’s confession, he too confesses the truth. Hale is arrested soon after, but he pleads his innocence. Even as the new evidence comes out against him, he remains confident that his connections will get him out of trouble. The biggest risk to him is Ernest, so as he begins to testify, Hale’s lawyer (who is also technically Ernest’s lawyer) intervenes to demand a private audience with his client.
Ernest is pressured into not testifying against his uncle by various important white figures in the community. Everything seems to be back on track for Hale, but the death of Ernest’s youngest daughter changes things once again. Ernest is devastated by his daughter’s death in large part because he knows he’s to blame. When Mollie because pregnant with their daughter, Ernest had been poisoning her insulin for some time. In essence, he had murdered his own daughter. Ernest testifies against Hale, and they’re both imprisoned for their part in the conspiracy. Mollie’s health recovered after she received proper care.
Overall Thoughts
Initially, I wasn’t quite sure how I should interpret the ending. When I learned that the film is based off a true story, the ending made more sense. On face value, it’s an epilogue that serves to close out the story. Hale and Ernest are convicted for their crimes but are both released after some time in prison despite being given life sentences. Mollie would go on to divorce Ernest. She would eventually die of diabetes at the age of 50. This information is critical to the story’s conclusion, but the way it’s delivered tells a message of its own.
Instead of adding scenes to depict the aftermath of the trial, Scorsese chooses to deliver the conclusion though an information dump by a radio show. He even makes an cameo appearance in the end to tell of Mollie’s life after the trial and that of the Osage. It’s a brilliant way to address the limitations of the film. In a sense, it is an acknowledgement that his interpretation of the story is not perfect, but that he did the best he could to tell it in a manner that stayed true to the very real events that transpired.
With regards to the structure of the film, it was set up in a way that highlighted just how despicable Hale’s actions were. He manipulated his nephew and methodically murdered people he’d known for a lifetime, and for what? There’s never a good reason to commit murder, but there are plenty of bad reasons. Insatiable greed is up there among the worst. To make matters worse, his cover up was so lackluster. It reflected his arrogant belief that he would never be held accountable for his crimes. By the time his loose ends caught up to him, he had done so much damage that there was no satisfaction for his downfall.
Character Development (13/15)
Ernest is placed at the center of the film for a number of reasons. His unconditional trust in the virtue of his uncle, Hale, even as he conspires to murder innocent people is inexcusable. He believed the lies that Hale told him to justify his schemes against all logic. It gets worse when you consider that Ernest actually loved his wife, Mollie. For her part, Mollie was resilient and certainly far more forgiving than can be expected of her given the horror she was subjected to.
Ernest
To say that Ernest isn’t bright would be an understatement. His idiocy is no excuse for the crimes he committed, but it is certainly his defining characteristic. He returned from the war having seen his fair share of death despite not engaging in active combat as a result of a physical condition. That condition also meant that he could not engage in hard labor upon his return, which severely limited his options. This combination of disadvantages made him extremely impressionable. He was exactly the type of person Hale needed.
Ernest’s blind faith in Hale is, at first, understandable. Not only was Hale his uncle, he was also the magnanimous “King of the Osage Hills.” Everybody loved him because everybody knew how righteous he was. He didn’t have to take care of Ernest, but he did anyways. Surely, such a good man could do no wrong. Furthermore, he’s proven himself to be a shrewd businessman. Because of all this, when Hale spoke, Ernest listened. When he gave an order, Ernest followed without hestitation.
This is all understandable until you get to the part where Ernest was executing orders to kill members of his wife’s family. Hale used fearmongering tactics and justified the early murders somewhat logically, but what of the bombing? What of the poisoning of his pregnant wife?? What makes his actions even more baffling is that he actually loved Mollie. That it takes his daughter’s death to bring him out of his state of denial is appalling. He does the right thing by helping to put Hale away, but that doesn’t make up for all the wrongs. His inability to admit to Mollie that he’d been poisoning her leaves a lasting impression.
Mollie
At the beginning of the film, Mollie is primarily concerned with her mother’s health as she battles diabetes. She hasn’t married because she wishes to remain by her mother’s side so she may better care for her. Mollie suffers from diabetes as well, but her condition is not yet debilitating. Her life changes when she meets Ernest. She sees Ernest for who he is: a simple man who’s most certainly after her money. However, she also recognizes that Ernest loves her, and she loves him as well. When the two get married, they do so out of love.
Ernest treats Mollie well. He’s dedicated to her well-being even as her mother warns against the white man’s greed. The same can be said of Hale, who she’d known ever since she was a child. As the uninvestigated Osage murders plagued her family, she could not stand idle any longer. There was someone behind the tragedies, and they had to be brought to justice. Even as her health deteriorated, her resilience proved the difference-maker. Her trip to D.C. was the turning point that would eventually bring Hale down.
The complexity in Mollie’s character comes in the way she treated Ernest even after she learned of his involvement in the murders of her family members. She was compassionate where others would normally be vengeful. She maintained her poise throughout a trial that revealed the extent of betrayal from the two people closest to her. Her humanity in the face of horror was remarkable. The final conversation she has with Ernest is quite fascinating. I do wonder if she would’ve forgiven him if he had admitted the truth about poisoning her.
Theme/Messages (4/5)
- There are limitations to how much of a story can be conveyed through film or other mediums.
- The exploitation of indigenous people is an ugly chapter in human history. The sad part is that we are still writing more chapters.
- People can do truly awful things when they let greed consume them.
- How can one love another and still hurt them so much?
Acting (15/15)
Leonardo DiCaprio (Ernest Burkhart) puts in an incredible Oscar-worthy performance. He really embodied Ernest’s idiocy and impressionability as well as his love for Mollie. Lily Gladstone (Mollie Burkhart) is equally impressive opposite DiCaprio. She never seemed out of place in what is certainly a breakout role. What she conveys in a mostly muted performance is nothing short of extraordinary. Robert De Niro (William King Hale) rounds out the film’s top three. He expertly shifted between Hale’s disarming public persona and his menacing nature with ease. Well done to all three actors.
The supporting cast did their part as well. Jesse Plemons (Tom White), Scott Shepherd (Byron Burkhart), and Louis Cancelmi (Kelsie Morrison) stand out among the rest, but no one looked out of place. That includes Brendan Fraser (W. S. Hamilton), Jason Isbell (Bill Smith), Cara Jade Myers (Anna Brown), Tantoo Cardinal (Lizzie Q), and Tommy Schultz (Blackie Thompson). This ensemble is yet another example of how important casting is in great films.
Cinematography (13/15)
- The expansive shots of the land were great
- There were a number of sequences focused on depicting the Osage culture
- Ending the film with a shot of a celebratory modern-day Osage Nation was a nice way to offer some positivity after such a grueling story