Movie Review – Killers of the Flower Moon

If you don’t want to read any spoilers before seeing this movie then I can just say that I found the movie to be shallow and unnecessarily long. These characters were real-life people. I can’t write a proper movie review without getting into the characters and their actions so there will be spoilers ahead. You’ve been warned.

First off, more is not better. There was no point in this movie being over three hours long (3h 18min), not including the end credits. That being said, the film didn’t drag too much, and the drama picks up closer to the end, which propels the story forward.

The World’s Most Indispensable Movie App

The RunPee app tells you the best times to
run & pee during a movie
so you don't miss the best scenes.

As seen on

Download the RunPee app.
100% free (donation supported)

     

Read more about the RunPee app.

I believe movies such as this that look at our not-so-glamorous past are important to make. This isn’t the sort of stuff that shows up in high school textbooks and we need to be aware of the mistakes that were made so we don’t repeat them. That alone is the reason I didn’t give this movie and even lower grade.

No Character Arc

Here’s my major issue with the movie: I didn’t detect any character arc from any character in the movie. Sure, Ernest (Leonardo DiCaprio) does finally testify against his uncle, but that is for selfish survival reasons. The character never has an epiphany and realizes everything he has done wrong. And I also never got any sense of internal conflict from Ernest. Although he seemed to genuinely love his wife, he murdered her sister and didn’t appear to be conflicted about it. This is the sort of internal conflict that any good writer should be excited to write and show off the character’s struggles.

To make it worse Ernest’s character is portrayed as a man who isn’t terribly bright. He’s not a complete idiot; but he seems thick, and maybe that’s used as some excuse for his character’s actions.

William “King” Hale (Robert De Niro) isn’t any different. His character never has any moment of recognition that what he’s doing is wrong. He seems to feel completely justified in being two-faced.

Temporal Bigotry

Here’s my takeaway from this movie: it only reinforces a sense of temporal bigotry. I’m better than most of the people who lived in the past because I try to value all cultures equal to my own. I live in a culture where a person who mistreats a dog or even a wild animal, will end up in jail. There is still way too much prejudice in the world, but it’s way better than it used to be. The jury is still out on whether we, as a culture, are still improving. It seems that cultures are like snakes: they need to shed their old dead skin before they can grow.

Killers of the Flower Moon would be great if it could make me understand why the characters acted the way they did; And if Killers of the Flower Moon could make me understand that I too would have made similar choices had I lived in their reality then it would be a remarkable story. I’m not better than people in the past; I simply live in a world with more diversity and empathy. But I don’t feel that the writers, director, or actors had a goal of expressing anything more complex than here are some characters who did these things. There’s no depth or subtlety.

What people are saying
about the RunPee app.

A Google user

November 17, 2019

One of the most useful apps I’ve ever come across. I’ve used it for years and recommended it to all my friends. Even if I’m not the type to have to pee during movies often, being able to pull up the app and pass my phone to my mom/friend/grandma so that they know when to go to the bathroom has been invaluable. Because then I don’t have to summarize anything when they get back!!

View all reviews: Apple App Store | Google Play Store

     

Grade: C-

About The Peetimes: I have five Peetimes, but that still doesn’t seem like enough for this epic movie. I think the 3rd and 5th Peetimes are the best, but none of the Peetimes are bad.

There are no extra scenes during, or after, the end credits of Killers of the Flower Moon.

Plot
Members of the Osage tribe in the United States are murdered under mysterious circumstances in the 1920s, sparking a major F.B.I. investigation involving J. Edgar Hoover.

Dan Gardner

Creator and developer of the RunPee app. When something doesn’t work right in the app it’s pretty much his fault. 🙂

Aspiring author. Would like to finish his “Zombie Revelations” trilogy if he could break away for working on RunPee and the cottage he’s building for RunPee Mom.