Apparently Martin Scorsese is doggedly determined to ramp up the running times of each successive movie. Killers of the Flower Moon would have probably worked a lot better as a NetFlix or HBO mini series than a full-length feature movie, but most likely DiCaprio and DeNiro could not commit to filming a lengthy mini series. That said, the film is worth a binge, ideally watching the entire movie versus breaking it up as so many people are doing now that the movie is streaming.
I never read the book but understand that many details in the book were not covered in this 3 1/2 hour epic, another reason why the mini series approach may have been better. I think about Scorsese's involvement with the excellent HBO mini series Boardwalk Empire (he directed the show's pilot); had bigger stars been involved with the mini series, most likely Boardwalk Empire, which spanned 5 seasons, would have been reduced to a long movie as well.
That all said, the movie is excellent, a real slow burner, and I enjoyed it more than 2023's other 3-hour period piece, Oppenheimer. DiCaprio was passed over in the Best Actor category because he really doesn't cover new ground here - his character is a bit dimwitted but a survivor, and has echoes of his character from Gangs of New York. DeNiro, who did get an Oscar nomination, is reunited with his This Boy's Life co-star as the mysterious uncle "King" Hale, who eggs on DiCaprio, playing Ernest Buckhart, a World War I veteran, early in the movie to court the young Osage woman Ernest is driving around in his "taxi." By doing this courting, Hale explains, and eventually marrying the Osage woman Mollie, Hale, Buckhart, and their families will become millionaires inheriting the oil fields Mollie's family's land sits on.
This is all done at an extremely leisurely pace. In this era of low attention spans and hyper-edited CGI comic book movies, audiences will either walk out or shut the movie off after 30 minutes. The rest of us who watch the film all the way through will be rewarded with beautiful cinematography, period detail, and fine performances, particularly by Lily Gladstone as Mollie. Other familiar faces show up as well (John Lithgow, Jesse Plemons, Brendan Fraser).
One thing a mini series probably would have done is delve into the Mason background of King Hale. In the movie, there is an interesting scene involving King, Ernest, and an apparent Mason ritual. The Mason movement, a forerunner in a way to later quasi-religious and political movements, had a bit of a revival in the prosperous 1920s, attracting wealthy industrialists looking for a private sanctuary to protect their deeds (and their wealth).
In the end, the film is thought-provoking and pure cinema. And after becoming accustomed to the pace of the film, the 3 1/2 hours go by very quickly.
I never read the book but understand that many details in the book were not covered in this 3 1/2 hour epic, another reason why the mini series approach may have been better. I think about Scorsese's involvement with the excellent HBO mini series Boardwalk Empire (he directed the show's pilot); had bigger stars been involved with the mini series, most likely Boardwalk Empire, which spanned 5 seasons, would have been reduced to a long movie as well.
That all said, the movie is excellent, a real slow burner, and I enjoyed it more than 2023's other 3-hour period piece, Oppenheimer. DiCaprio was passed over in the Best Actor category because he really doesn't cover new ground here - his character is a bit dimwitted but a survivor, and has echoes of his character from Gangs of New York. DeNiro, who did get an Oscar nomination, is reunited with his This Boy's Life co-star as the mysterious uncle "King" Hale, who eggs on DiCaprio, playing Ernest Buckhart, a World War I veteran, early in the movie to court the young Osage woman Ernest is driving around in his "taxi." By doing this courting, Hale explains, and eventually marrying the Osage woman Mollie, Hale, Buckhart, and their families will become millionaires inheriting the oil fields Mollie's family's land sits on.
This is all done at an extremely leisurely pace. In this era of low attention spans and hyper-edited CGI comic book movies, audiences will either walk out or shut the movie off after 30 minutes. The rest of us who watch the film all the way through will be rewarded with beautiful cinematography, period detail, and fine performances, particularly by Lily Gladstone as Mollie. Other familiar faces show up as well (John Lithgow, Jesse Plemons, Brendan Fraser).
One thing a mini series probably would have done is delve into the Mason background of King Hale. In the movie, there is an interesting scene involving King, Ernest, and an apparent Mason ritual. The Mason movement, a forerunner in a way to later quasi-religious and political movements, had a bit of a revival in the prosperous 1920s, attracting wealthy industrialists looking for a private sanctuary to protect their deeds (and their wealth).
In the end, the film is thought-provoking and pure cinema. And after becoming accustomed to the pace of the film, the 3 1/2 hours go by very quickly.