Killers of the Flower Moon ★★★★

MARTIN Scorsese assembles his dream team for possibly the most important film of an illustrious career, Killers of the Flower Moon.

In addition to long-time technical collaborators, editor Thelma Schoonmaker and composer Robbie Robertson, on screen we have Leonardo DiCaprio back for the sixth time and Robert De Niro for lucky number ten.

So, luck actually plays no part in how good this historical western/crime drama has turned out.

It’s sweeping yet intimate, epic yet restrained in telling the true story of greed and indifference that horribly impacted an indigenous people and culture.

Based on a 2017 non-fiction book by David Grann, Killers of the Flower Moon documents the tragic events that befell people of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma after oil was discovered on their land.

What should have been a life-changing impact for current and future generations proved exactly the opposite as government rules were exploited by evil, corrupt and mostly white, men.

The paternalistic society of the time set many rules for the Osage to ‘properly’ manage their rights and wealth.

These included allowing bureaucrats to become guardians of wealth distribution and unscrupulous non-Osage to get their hooks into that wealth by marrying into Osage families.

Starting in the 1920s, white opportunists like De Niro’s cattle rancher William King Hale exploit the law by using their position, influence and money to viciously exploit, steal and murder.

Hale’s cocky nephew, Ernest Burkhart (DiCaprio), returns from his war service and is happy to fall into line with the family’s sins, going so far as to marry Osage woman Mollie Kyle, wonderfully played by Lily Gladstone.

Over time, however, they do build a relationship and raise three children. But Burkhart is also seemingly content to let his uncle continue the charade of being a benefactor to a population he is also destroying.

The Burkhart character, despite being based on a real person, continues to be problematic throughout the film and is one of its few failings. We never get to clearly understand his emotions and what leads him to adjust his behaviour.

As you would expect, both male leads are excellent and there is a good support role for Jesse Plemons as a government agent brought in to investigate the killings.

Behind the camera Scorsese is in full control of his visuals, narrative and pacing to ensure audiences interest won’t lag.

While there is criticism that events become a little respective, there is still a progression of story and raising of the stakes as the protagonists become more desperate in the face of exposure.

While the plight of the Native American people is well documented, Scorsese, the master storyteller, has still managed to find an important chapter that is both beautiful and horrifying to watch.