Review: Scorsese’s genius shines like never before in “Killers of the Flower Moon”

It would be very ridiculous to dare to say that “Killers of the Flower Moon”co-production of Apple Plus and Paramount Pictures which is showing in theaters this week, is more of the same. First, because the adaptation of David Grann’s book, a true chronology of the inhumane abuses suffered by Native Americans in Osage County at the beginning of the 20th century, is the type of complex and ambitious film that has become an anomaly within commercial cinema. Hollywood.

Evaluating it within the filmography of its director is a more complex challenge. Maybe not the best movie Martin Scorsesealmost an impossible mission for any lover of the seventh art, but it does stand out for having an emotional urgency that has not been present in the filmmaker’s work for many years. That quality is what sustains and justifies why this film lasts three hours and thirty minutes. Scorsese has clearly connected with the injustices he is dramatizing. The fact that the protagonists of the film are the men who carried out the murders and acts of corruption that stole the wealth of an entire family is what aligns this film with the rest of his filmography.

This is not the explosive and risky Scorsese of “The Wolf of Wall Street”, “Goodfellas” or “Raging Bull”. His direction in this film is more aligned with the mature elegance of films like “Age of Innocence”, “Kundun” or “The Last Temptation of Christ”. Regardless, It is a true pleasure to witness a master of the medium who knows how to tell a story, exploiting the audiovisual language of his proposal to the maximum.

The work of Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio in the leading roles of this film equals the achievements of its director. It’s no surprise that these two actors have the talent to give superlative performances. It is also not the first time that De Niro portrays the darker side of human nature and Di Caprio a man full of contradictions. However, The actors find fertile artistic territory for their roles in this film.

In a film that alternates episodically between tragedy and tragedy, DiCaprio builds his by showing how the lack of emotional intelligence of Ernest, a man adrift after having fought in the First World War, is what allows him to lie to everyone. , including himself. The moment where the character can no longer lie is one of the best in DiCaprio’s distinguished career. In the same way, De Niro gives life to a monster without humanity who disguises himself as a pillar of the community. There is nothing that William Hale is not willing to do to secure his position of power in the face of the irrefutable wealth of a minority.

The heart of the film is the interpretation of Lily Gladstone. The honesty and humanity that this actress achieves as an intelligent woman who cannot help but be seduced by Ernest’s lies is devastating. The pulse of her work is so strong that even when plot twists immobilize her character, the strength of her spirit fuels each frame of the film.

However, the most emotional moment of the film belongs to Scorsese himself. “Killers of the Flower Moon” concludes with an ambitious epilogue where the director tries to illustrate how the story of these true horrors has been minimized or trivialized over time.. This section concludes with Scorsese giving the final on-screen speech, his eyes filling with tears. That genuine emotion is what fuels and highlights his work in this film.