About the film (courtesy of Apple TV+):
An epic wester crime saga, where real love crosses paths with unspeakable betrayal. Based on a true story and told through the improbable romance of Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone), Killers of the Flower Moon tracks the suspicious murders of member of the Osage Nation, who became some of the richest people in the world overnight after oil was discovered underneath their land.

There’s been a lot of buzz around Martin Scorsese’s latest historical crime drama, Killers of the Flower Moon. The Oscar-winning director of acclaimed hits such as Taxi Driver (1976), Goodfellas (1990), The Departed (2006) and The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) has, once again, pulled in a few of his favorite keystone performers to tell a rather weighted story of love, greed and betrayal. I have a feeling that this title will be a divisive one when it comes to critics, fans and your average Joe or Jane.

Let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way early. Killers of the Flower Moon clocks in at a massive 206 minutes. That’s a whole three hours and 26 minutes…NOT counting the 15 minutes or so of previews and advertisements before the film even starts rolling. Good luck with that since there’s no pause button in the movie theaters. And the crazy thing about the runtime is that it doesn’t even crack the top-five of longest running titles by Scorsese. Wow! Both impressive and scary at the same time.

The story is based on a real-life event, and it is both fascinating and disturbing. Killers of the Flower Moon does a good job of showing the corruption and violence that was rampant in Oklahoma in the 1920s. What occurred during that time, specifically regarding members of the Osage Nation is completely deplorable, but this film does a more than decent job of presenting these facts. And yet this is not a story that most people even know about.

DiCaprio and De Niro give strong performances, as do Lily Gladstone and Jesse Plemons, when he’s finally introduced about seven hours into this miniseries. I may be a tad bit over-the-top with sarcasm right now, but this did feel like an incredibly long viewing. Killers of the Flower Moon is filled with top-notch talent throughout, such as Michael Abbott Jr., John Lithgow and Brendan Fraser. Therefore, this did make for some solid storytelling, albeit rather long-winded.

Killers of the Flower Moon seems to be trying to be both a crime thriller and a historical drama, and it doesn’t always succeed at both. The film does not really focus on any one character or storyline, which can make it feel a bit disjointed at times. On another plus side, the cinematography is stunning, and the film does a great job of recreating the atmosphere of Oklahoma in the early 1900s – even if it does focus on a dark chapter in American history.

To sum things up, Killers of the Flower Moon is a well-made film with some strong performances. However, it is a long film, and some viewers (including yours truly) may find it to be slow-paced. If you are interested in the history of the Osage Nation and the crimes that were committed against them, then you may enjoy this film. However, if you are looking for a fast-paced thriller, then you may be disappointed.

Killers of the Flower Moon opens in theaters Friday, October 20th with early showings Thursday evening.