Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Killers of the Flower Moon, as one might expect from a movie about a series of real-life atrocities carried out against the Osage Nation in the 1920s, is not an easy watch. For three-and-a-half hours, Martin Scorsese makes the audience sit with the greed and depravity of the white men who murdered prominent Osage figures for their oil money with near-impunity. The film offers little catharsis, and even less comfort; what it does have is brisk pacing, immaculate craft, and an overflowing cornucopia of brilliant acting.
There are performances from Robert De Niro (as the diabolical William Hale) and Leonardo DiCaprio (as Ernest, Hale’s nephew and sniveling lackey) that rank among the very best of their storied careers. There are standout turns from indigenous actors like Tantoo Cardinal, Cara Jade Myers, and Tatanka Means. There are enough high-impact character-actor performances, from the likes of Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, and Louis Cancelmi, to rival Oppenheimer. Tying it all together is the superlative Lily Gladstone, who will doubtlessly receive Oscar buzz but gives the kind of layered, empathetic performance that makes awards seem trivial.
And then there’s Brendan Fraser.