Killers of the Flower Moon

Fargo 1920. It's not riveting, but it's undeniably excellent. It feels like a miniseries accidentally put on in one piece, two and a half hours of taking its time with everything in style, and in the final hour, after a change of style, it's conversely stilted. One of those films that should have either been considerably shorter (and left out entire lines) or, conversely, considerably longer (and fully committed to each). (10/20/2023)

The Osage nation has found oil in their territory and became rich. But where there is money, there are people who want to get their hands on it, and they will be going over dead bodies. Martin Scorsese delivers a dense drama about human envy, anger and cruelty that is not entirely audience-friendly and forces you to spend three and a half hours in the company of repulsive people. Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro give brilliant performances here, but the slow pace and a narrative that doesn't rush anywhere demand more attention and patience from the audience than usual. Scorsese is uncompromising, so be ready to do your fair share of time with his newest film. And he's certainly not going to make it easy. (10/16/2023)

At first glance, the same symptoms The Irishman had. In his latest films, Scorsese is no longer able to escalate, or at least keep the pace of the story and thus the viewer engaged. Add to that the monstrous running time and we have a problem. Although Killers of the Flower Moon has unquestionable narrative value, an artistic signature and dramatic ambition, those 200 minutes were for the most part plodding, despite the fact that DiCaprio and De Niro literally give an acting tour-de-force. (11/04/2023)

Crushing. It’s good to see in the context of today's times when it appears that no one plays a fair game and those who do are suffering the most. It's not at all enjoyable to watch, in fact it can only be endured because of Scorsese’s masterful work with the actors and his obvious desire to tell an important story. De Niro and DiCaprio are both excellent, and Lily Gladstone is Oscar-worthy. Too bad the people who should see it won't be the ones who will, because they won't be comfortable with the company they'll spend those three and a half hours in, since the main characters are a lazy invalid slacker with a weak will, a naive (though mostly sick) rich wife, and an egomaniac convinced of the righteousness of his actions. The common denominator is, of course, money. Yeah, I like money, almost as much as I like my wife. (10/23/2023)

During those 206 minutes, I asked myself the question, for whom Marty is making such long films in today's time. Today's accelerated generation must be frightened by the lengths and if (which will eventually happen) once DiCaprio and De Niro will not say anything to them, it will be necessary to come to the realization that he is making it for us - for today's movie fans. That's because the film really makes an impact. It is made by a professional lover of film technique for film lovers who can revel in every detail that is in any way atypical. It is true that the first hour and a half was very gloomy, and although the subject is very clear, I found it difficult to get into it. But then it broke and I started to enjoy any expression of De Niro and DiCaprio that they displayed on set. DiCaprio also nailed his speech to perfection and in both cases their characters set off with such dizzying pace, that in the second half of the film I literally started to enjoy them. And that even though one was a volatile psychopath and the other a fool - so no one you would explicitly start rooting for. The epilogue is then a kind of imaginary treat in the film, which is devilishly long, but can also be devilishly good. (01/17/2024)