"Directed by Martin Scorsese" is a cinematic event in itself. The man turns 81 next month, in November, and who knows how many great films there are still left in him. Eric Roth and Scorsese team up to write the screenplay for this new one, Killers of the Flower Moon, and it brings Scorsese back to his familiar themes of work, money, family, and violence - but this time on a broader canvas of American Indians at the turn of the 20th century, and how the white man systematically exploited them. 

The setting for the film’s narrative is the Osage Nation in Oklahoma in the 1920s, and how the discovery of oil made these native Americans wealthy citizens in name and on paper. Based on the 2017 non-fiction book by David Grann, the book chronicles the ‘rape’ of the Osage by greedy oil barons and businessmen and how this was one of the factors leading to the birth of the FBI. 

Screened first at Cannes, this marks the sixth Scorsese film with Leonardo DiCaprio and his tenth film with Robert DeNiro - two artistic collaborations that have produced so many golden cinematic moments. Lily Gladstone portrays Mollie Burkhart, an Osage native who marries Ernest Burkhart (DiCaprio). DeNiro is William Hale, the villain of the piece and uncle of Burkhart - the man tagged by the FBI as the mastermind in the scheme to defraud and even murder the Indians. Jesse Plemons, John Lithgow, and Brendan Fraser are also in the impressive cast.

Viewers have criticized the running time of the film. At three hours twenty-six minutes, it is an investment, not your summer blockbuster at all. But one will be rewarded for the patience as the story unravels at a measured but purposeful pace. 

Roth and Scorsese have smartly turned the story around so that the major perspective now comes from the Burkhart couple. While Millie is definitely a victim, thanks to DiCaprio’s attack on the role, Ernest is both a victim and instigator. Pawn to Hale, his stupidity and naïveté are lynchpin to what happens and why Mollie sticks to him despite all that ensues. 

I understand that DiCaprio was the first case as the central FBI agent, but that would have been too easy a role for him to have played. His range and going against type work well as Burkhart. Gladstone is great as Mollie, the film's emotional center, while deNiro, as Hale, puts depth and shade into his portrayal. 

Yes, this is a rather long film to watch, but it proves its worth in the long run - destined to be a film that Scorsese will be remembered for, and how even in his later years, he would come up with films screaming injustice, and making us react with indignation. Watch the film at cinemas, and enjoy the experience of being led by a cinema master.