KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Cert 15
206 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong violence, injury detail, racism.
No question, Martin Scorsese is one of the greatest directors of all time but has he lost the ability to edit?
I ask this after sitting through a bum-numbing three-and-a-half hours of Killers Of The Flower Moon - the same duration as his previous movie, The Irishman.
While both pictures have been critically acclaimed, nobody can tell me that they have the same punch as the likes of Raging Bull, Goodfellas or Cape Fear.
Mrs W admitted she had a couple of micro naps during our screening but was rightly confident she would be able to catch up.
Killers Of The Flower Moon centres on the Osage Native Americans who become extraordinarily wealthy after an oil strike on their land.
Initially, theirs seems to be a happy marriage (sometimes literally) with the white community as the population swells to work on the fields.
However, there is a deep undercurrent of mistrust, exacerbated by the barely concealed racism of the white families.
Exploiter-in-chief of the situation is a rich farmer (Robert De Niro) who pretends he is the best friend of the Osage while knifing them in the back, figuratively and literally.
His plotting takes on a new dimension when his nephew (Leonardo DiCaprio) arrives after service in the First World War.
The naive former soldier takes in all of his uncle's supposedly sage advice while falling for a beautiful Osage girl (Lily Gladstone).
And then the deaths begin - particularly focused on her nearest and dearest.
There are several reasons why Scorsese's picture is among the strong contenders for Oscars.
Firstly, it is based on a fascinating true story of an epidemic of murder which it took the authorities too long to investigate.
Secondly, it looks great. No detail is spared in the recreation of an Oklahoma town from the first half of the 20th century.
Thirdly, the acting is impressive - De Niro's graduation from avuncular to villainous is impressive, DiCaprio has his usual screen presence and I was especially taken with Gladstone.
And, of course, it is a Scorsese movie.
But dare I say, DiCaprio and De Niro do a grand job despite being miscast because they are both too old for their respective characters.
Indeed, it would have been more in keeping with the story if DiCaprio had been given De Niro's role and a younger man had taken the lead.
But the biggest bugbear is that the drama of this movie is diluted by its length - there is just too much filler between the key scenes.
Scorses in its heyday would not have allowed that to happen.
Reasons to watch: A mind-blowing story
Reasons to avoid: Far too long
Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: Yes
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 7.5/10
Did you know? Robert De Niro has appeared in ten Martin Scorsese movies since Mean Streets in 1973. Brian De Palma introduced Scorsese to the then young actor. Their biggest box office success was Cape Fear.
The final word. Martin Scorsese: "I said to everybody, “You’re going to be very careful with the Osage Nation. Don’t think you’re going to make something that is not going to address it in not only an authentic, but a truthful way…" BFI
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