The Killers Of The Flower Moon (2023)

We all know the legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese. We have idolised, researched, and watched his work repeatedly. He changed the film industry with multiple films, shots and effects. We love him. However, with this amount of work behind him that is so stunning and versatile, Killers Of The Flower Moon didn’t stand out or shine amongst all of them. I enjoyed the film and never lost attention, but I can’t deny that there were issues with the film that, in my eyes, ruined my belief of the film winning multiple Oscars.⠀
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Firstly, it would be a completely different film if they had shortened it and edited all the shots a little smaller. Considering the amount of action, the film’s pacing could have been faster. I think that if they had the scenes shorter and more action-based when they needed to be, then the quiet moments would stand out more and be more powerful; it just felt like everything was moving at the same pace, and we were waiting for there to be a fast moment full of action. I think this would have also enhanced the performances of the actors because it would give us more of a range of what they could do; it just felt that a lot of the conversations and, consequently, the performances were the same in the film and that by the end we had seen three versions of one film.

I love a long movie, but only if it necessarily has to be long and it tells the story, that it adds to the characters and gives us more insight into who they are. There’s no denying that the story of Killers Of The Flower Moon they chose was perfect and needed to be shared with the world for us to look back on, criticise, and learn. I feel like with the audience Scorsese has, we were just expecting more.

Some beautiful shots were scattered amongst the hours of dialogue; there was gorgeous cinematography where the shots just enlightened the whole film, moments of performance that stuck out amongst the rest and an incredible choice of having Scorsese appear at the end (in my opinion this was one of my favourite moments of the film, we step away and have a raw moment with the director, which added a lot more meaning to the film.) When Ernest’s character heard of his daughter’s death, it was the real pivotal point of the film; there was some passion and honest emotion drawn from the audience. We had felt sadness for Mollie and her horrid tragedies, but I don’t think it dragged as much emotion as Leo.

However, what was running through my head was that, is this as good as when he finds his children in Shutter Island? Could he win an Oscar or even be nominated for his performance, maybe? However, he had some roles in the past, which, in my eyes, are much better than his overall performance. I thought the same for De Niro, who is such a powerhouse that it was a shock his performance got lost. I could see Lily Gladstone being nominated, but I wish her character had a scene like Leos, once again to break up her performance after 3 hours and 30 minutes of her character just crying and mourning the whole time.⠀
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I would also like to add… Brendan Fraser… huh… what… why. His performance was so funny for us to watch for some reason. This is such a disappointing performance after The Whale. It was so over the top, random and unexpected. ⠀
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Overall, I enjoyed Killers Of The Flower Moon for its story. It was eye-opening and essential to where we are now as a society and what the world is going through. I really believe it was the right idea at the right time, I wish it it was executed better and was a little more refined. I would have taken a more raw and emotional feeling at home if so much exposition had been taken out. From the beginning, we were drawn to the characters, whether negatively or positively, so it wouldn’t have risked our understanding of their actions

We would like to say that we love Scorsese and his past work, but if you look at this film by itself and without the genius’ name behind it, do you still rate it so highly? Is it the same film to you?