Killers of the Flower Moon isn’t the earliest tale of the power of oil. Oil has held a pivotal role in the shaping of human civilization, dating back to its early use by the ancient Mesopotamians over 8,000 years ago for waterproofing their homes and watercraft. In contemporary times, the oil and petrochemical sector has burgeoned into a multi-trillion-dollar industry of incalculable global significance.

Killers of the Flower Moon

The first oil well in what is now Osage County, Oklahoma, was drilled on the Osage Indian Reservation in 1897. Twenty-four years later, the vast wealth that it generated would become the catalyst for a murderous conspiracy that would last for years and cost the lives of dozens.

1 Vacation

2 Shop

3 Amazon

One of the things that has helped to make Scorsese one of the best American filmmakers in history is that he uses only top-shelf ingredients. From titanic thespians like DiCaprio (get it) and De Niro to Academy Award-nominated cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, Killers of the Flower Moon is full of the best. It is beautifully filmed and superbly acted, its costumes and sets are meticulously crafted, and even its props are perfect.

So, how is it that with all of that going for it, along with a compelling true story full of murder and intrigue at its core, Killers of the Flower Moon manages to be one of the most boring films of the year? The answer is that in Scorsese’s zeal to make a nega-comic book film, along with Hollywood’s long history of sycophantic toadies who are more interested in pleasing big-name directors than they are in producing a quality film, Martin and his crew were allowed to indulge in filming every beautiful establishing shot and lingering on every pregnant pause without check.

The result is a movie with pacing that runs slower than a one-legged dog through mud. For every would-be engaging or enthralling moment, there are two ten-minute arthouse scenery shots, etc., that do nothing to further the narrative. Certainly, there is something to be said for a slow-burning film with meticulous world-building that makes the audience yearn with desire for the next scene. Consider another film set around the same time that also deals with greed and oil, There Will Be Blood. TWBB’s pace is an oil drip of suspense and tension from beginning to end, and although it certainly had its fair share of establishing shots and long silences, each one was integral to the story.

Unfortunately, Killer of the Flower Moon’s inconsistent rhythm only serves to sever the emotional connection between characters, making it that much more difficult for the audience to care about the interpersonal relationships on screen. As well performed as their characters were, there was no chemistry between DiCaprio’s Ernest and Ernest’s wife Mollie, played by Lilly Gladstone, and much of this can be attributed to Scorcese (that and the fact that it’s likely difficult for DiCaprio to act as though he’s attracted to a woman over the age of 25 and isn’t a model).

The reality is that Killers of the Flower Moon’s plot isn’t conducive to deliberate pacing. Its tale of murder and betrayal that lasted for the better part of a decade and reached as far as President Warren G. Harding is one of repeated and deep treachery that rocked a community to its core. Yet, instead of feeling a sense of panic over what is to next befall this beset upon community, the audience gets to experience the passage of every second of the five or so years that the film covers.

It’s a real tragedy because every other aspect of Killers of the Flower Moon is excellent. That said, we’d suggest that history lovers pick up a copy of the book instead. You can probably get through it before the movie is over.

WOKE ELEMENTS

One of the woke Left’s favorite refrains is that we (The Right) don’t want history to be taught and that we can’t handle the truth of our country’s past. Killers of the Flower Moon certainly covers a dark page in our history. However, it is a story of greed and only incidentally revolves around American Indians. Evil men of avarice don’t care what color a person’s skin is. They only care about how they can exploit in order to achieve. That has been the same for every period of history and every color of man since the dawn of civilization.

With that said, Killers of the Flower Moon does an excellent job of just telling the story. Yes, it is far more sympathetic to the American Indians in the film, and yes, there are more white men at fault, but that’s what happened. The movie isn’t preaching that white people are bad and American Indians are good, just that this situation occurred, and it was a bad one.