Killers of the Flower Moon (film)

Killers of the Flower Moon (film)
Name	Killers of the Flower Moon
Director	Martin Scorsese
Producer	Martin Scorsese, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner
Based on	Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
Screenplay	Eric Roth, Martin Scorsese
Starring	Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone
Music	Jóhann Jóhannsson (posthumous credit), Robbie Robertson
Cinematography	Rodrigo Prieto
Editing	Thelma Schoonmaker
Studio	Paramount Pictures, Apple Original Films, WME
Distributor	Paramount Pictures, Apple TV+
Released	2023
Runtime	206 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Killers of the Flower Moon (film)

Killers of the Flower Moon (film) is a 2023 American epic crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese from a screenplay by Eric Roth and Scorsese, adapted from David Grann's 2017 nonfiction book. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Ernest Burkhart, Robert De Niro as William "King" Hale, and Lily Gladstone as Mollie Burkhart, and depicts a series of murders among the Osage Nation in 1920s Oklahoma intertwined with the rise of the Federal Bureau of Investigation under J. Edgar Hoover. Production involved collaborations among Paramount Pictures, Apple TV+, and a team including Rodrigo Prieto and Thelma Schoonmaker, and the film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival before wide release.

Plot

Set in 1920s Osage County, Oklahoma, the narrative follows the wealthy members of the Osage Nation who receive headrights from oil discovered on their land. Ernest Burkhart returns from World War I to live with his uncle King Hale, a local cattleman and businessman with social ties to Pawhuska, Tulsa, and nearby towns. Mollie Burkhart, an Osage woman, inherits wealth and becomes the target of a conspiracy that includes staged accidents, poisonings, and staged inheritances aimed at transferring headrights to white guardians. As a pattern of suspicious deaths escalates, the newly empowered Federal Bureau of Investigation sends agent Tom White and investigators from Washington, D.C. to probe, encountering obstruction from local lawmen, judges, doctors, and bankers, including figures linked to Tulsa Race Massacre–era tensions and regional oil interests. Investigations reveal wills, criminal syndicates, and buried evidence that lead to trials in Pawhuska and Oklahoma City, implicating King Hale, associates, and family members; the courtroom reckonings unfold against the backdrop of changing federal policy and public scrutiny.

Cast

The principal cast includes Leonardo DiCaprio (Ernest Burkhart), Robert De Niro (William "King" Hale), Lily Gladstone (Mollie Burkhart), supported by actors who portray investigators, Osage community members, and regional elites connected to the killings. The ensemble features performers with credits in productions by Universal Pictures, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, and Focus Features, collaborating under Scorsese's frequent team including Thelma Schoonmaker and Rodrigo Prieto. Cast members' portrayals evoke figures tied to the Osage Nation, local sheriffs, attorneys, doctors, and businessmen who appear in court records, newspaper coverage from outlets like the New York Times and the Tulsa World, and in historical investigations by writers including David Grann.

Production

Scorsese developed the project following Grann's book, assembling a production team that included longtime collaborators such as editor Thelma Schoonmaker, cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, and composer Robbie Robertson. Financing and distribution were arranged among Paramount Pictures, Apple Inc.'s Apple TV+, and independent producers including Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment, with producers Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner participating. Principal photography took place on location in Oklahoma with set design and costuming informed by archives from institutions like the National Archives and Records Administration and collections at regional museums. Post-production honored the late composer Jóhann Jóhannsson with additional contributions by Robertson; sound mixing and color grading employed teams with credits on prior Scorsese films such as The Irishman and Goodfellas. The film's logistics navigated period props, period-appropriate vehicles, and coordination with representatives of the Osage Nation.

Historical background and accuracy

The story is rooted in the real-life Osage murders of the 1910s–1920s, sometimes called the Osage Reign of Terror, in which Osage headrights from oil leases drew exploitation. Key historical figures include members of the Osage Nation and local non‑Native perpetrators documented in court records at the National Archives and Records Administration and contemporaneous reporting in the New York Times and local Oklahoma newspapers. The investigation involved early agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation under J. Edgar Hoover, with casework by agents such as Tom White, and prosecutions in McAlester and Pawhuska. Historians and journalists including David Grann, Peggy Pascoe, and tribal historians have debated aspects of motive, chronology, and the extent of local complicity; the film adapts and compresses events and characters for narrative purposes while drawing on trial transcripts, coroners' reports, and civil records. Consultation occurred with Osage Nation representatives regarding cultural protocols, language, and portrayal of tribal ceremonies, though some scholars criticized dramatizations and composite character choices as simplifications of complex archival evidence.

Release and reception

The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival where it competed for the Palme d'Or. It opened in select theaters via Paramount Pictures before streaming on Apple TV+. Critics from outlets including the New York Times, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, and Variety offered praise for Scorsese's direction, the performances of DiCaprio, De Niro, and Gladstone, and the film's cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto, while some reviewers and scholars noted concerns about runtime and representational choices. The film featured in year-end lists from institutions such as the National Board of Review and received coverage in major media including the Washington Post and BBC News.

Awards and nominations

The film earned nominations and wins from major awarding bodies including the Academy Awards, the Golden Globe Awards, the British Academy Film Awards, and the Screen Actors Guild Awards, with recognition for acting, direction, screenplay, cinematography, and editing. Individual honors highlighted performances by Lily Gladstone, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Robert De Niro, as well as technical awards acknowledging Rodrigo Prieto and Thelma Schoonmaker. Industry guilds such as the Directors Guild of America and the Writers Guild of America acknowledged the film in their annual awards cycles.

Category:2023 films Category:Films directed by Martin Scorsese Category:Crime drama films Category:Films about Native Americans