One of the greatest filmmakers in the history of world cinema is back with his new venture – Killers of the Flower Moon. The man is 80 years old and is still directing a 3 and half hours feature film. The legend known for his crime movies also excels in other genres. In fact he has made some of the best drama films of the past generation. His new film debuted in Cannes this year received a 9 minute standing ovation. The premise of Killers of the Flower Moon, “In the 1920s, members of the Osage Native American tribe of Osage County, Oklahoma, are murdered after oil is found on their land, and the FBI decides to investigate.” The critical reception of the film since May was off the charts. Ahead of its release, the film is being shown to more critics and they’ve shared their thoughts on the Scorsese directorial. I’ll just say this, reviews for a film can’t get more positive than this.
Killers of the Flower Moon Reviews Round-Up: A Complex Narrative With Outstanding Performances!
Killers of the Flower Moon has received a “Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes with outstanding rating of 96% from 112 reviews. The early IMDb score of the film is extremely high as well – 8.8/10. Now, enough with the numbers, let’s hear the critic’s thoughts.
David Crow (Den of Geek) – “William Hale might even be the most vile creation ever realized by an actor who’s also played Al Capone and Jimmy Conway… While Hale might be the culmination of ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’s’ conspiracy, he is just one thread in a larger national tapestry of pitiless conquest… Even though the film is told through the eyes of the killers, the movie has the grace to end on the Osage themselves… Scorsese sees both sides, but it’s obvious which he hopes will carry forward.”
YouTuber Zach Pope – “Showcases why Scorsese is the best director to ever live. Delicately crafted to retell the tragic Osage Murders but give a glimpse into what Greed, Power, and corruption bring. A cinematic masterpiece that will be studied for years to come. Speechless”
Shelagh Rown-Legg (ScreenAnarchy) – “’Killers of the Flower Moon’ is the one of the best of Scorsese’s filmography – unflinching, honest, sweeping, intelligent, and necessary.”
Chris Bumbray (JoBlo) – “Absolutely ranks alongside Martin Scorsese’s masterpieces. One of DiCaprio’s most complex performances.”
Joanna Lanfield (The Movie Minute) – “You will hardly be able to take your eyes away from Lily Gladstone, but you won’t want to miss a second of what Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert DeNiro are doing. Both men, flirting with characters they have played before, now bring even greater depth and, often, humor as sharp as their sadness. How lucky are we to get to watch all of these creative people, coming together, at the top of their game.”
Julian Roman (Movie Web) – “’Killers of the Flower Moon’ immerses you in a seedy world of good old boy corruption, death, and deceit. Scorsese’s trademark visual flair and sharp editing highlights a methodical storyline that fatigues from lack of mystery.”
Laura Clifford (Reeling Review) – “… In witnessing those murders – abrupt, violent and brutal – and in a paddling scene that oddly feels like a man being made in the mafia, that we most recognize Scorsese’s auteurship here, his lengthy period film often feeling more like binging a prestige HBO limited series.”
Dan Scully (Scullyvision) – “It’s equal parts thrilling, educational, and dramatic, and there’s always room for bits of comedy to shine through… ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ is equal parts family drama, organized crime movie, police procedural, courtroom drama, and historical epic. One could take the somewhat defensible position that this is Scorsese playing the hits, but it would be an unfair and reductive angle that dismisses how well all of it is synthesized.”
Vincent Schilling (Native Viewpoint) – “As a Native American, and as a critic in general, I absolutely loved this film… Some moments were horrible and agonizing to watch, not because the film was horrible or agonizing, but because Scorsese brought the reality of this ugly history to light. I am so incredibly grateful for that.”
Robert Kojder (The Spool) – “At 80 years old, Martin Scorsese continues to evolve his previous narratives and storytelling tactics, implementing new imaginative tricks and putting out exquisite, scintillating work once again with some of his most trusted collaborators, in front of and behind the camera. I sincerely hope he has one more in, but if not, what a hell of a way to go out with this scalding, haunting, unflinching condemnation of America’s past that is still relevant today.”
Victoria Alexander (AlexanderFilmsInReview.com) – “Scorsese intentionally strips the film of any traces of his style. It appears that DiCaprio structured his performance to show his character suffered being evil. The film’s length should be praised instead of criticized.”
Mick LaSalle (San Francisco Chronicle) – “Martin Scorsese’s ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ is a bladder-buster of a movie with no obvious bathroom break, no section where the story starts to sag. This makes it, almost by definition, a good and admirable piece of work. But ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ is also a lumbering mess, an ungainly and tonally odd film that, for all the strength of its parts, has little cumulative impact. Scorsese had ambitions to make a great American epic about the exploitation of Indigenous people, but he somehow ended up with a tawdry crime story, stretched to three and a half hours.”
Wenlai Ma (PerthNow) – “That’s Scorsese’s mastery. He can conjure a fully fleshed-out world of compelling people and a lived-in place and demand you immerse yourself in it, even when it feels dirty (ahem, Wolf of Wall Street). Not everyone will have the patience to be won over by ‘Killers of the Flower Moon,’ but those people have the speedy distractions of TikTok.”
Stephen Romei (The Australian) – “Every moment Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert DeNiro share the screen will make you wish the cinematic gods had intervened to make them work together more often.”
Grace Randolph (Beyond the Trailers) – “Less ‘Goodfellas,’ more ‘Gangs of New York’… Martin Scorsese and co-writer Eric Roth assume the audience already knows so much about this true story, there is almost no context making the film a frustrating watch that offers more questions than answers.”
Killers of the Flower Moon is slated to release on 20th October 2023.
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