okay, lots to unpack.  had to sleep on this one to let my thoughts gather before i could write this.  first of all, Killers of the Flower Moon was a wonderful book by David Grann that i read back in late 2021/early 2022 after hearing that Martin Scorsese was going to be making an adaptation of it.  i think Marty and his crew do a very good job of adapting that, while taking some liberties like most of his other adaptations such as GoodFellas (1990), Casino (1995), and The Wolf Of Wall Street (2013).  the cinematography is so incredibly beautiful in this, like damn, i feel like i could reach out and feel the breeze blowing.   the performances from Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio are both very good, i think Leo outshines Bob, especially near the end of the movie, but i truly think the best performances come in the form of Lily Gladstone and Jesse Plemons.  Lily Gladstone absolutely deserves to be a star, she was phenomenal in this and i hope this opens up more opportunities for her.  i’ve always been a fan of Jesse Plemons since i saw him in season two of Fargo and of course, Breaking Bad, but he plays the role of Tom White very well, a very calm and reserved, but intuitive special agent 

now, for the movie itself, the actual murders are pretty disturbing, i winced a few times at a few of them but the entire time i couldn’t help but feel such sadness, knowing that these horrible things really happened, and the actors portray that really well.  even with it’s runtime, the movie seems to fly by, which is pretty nice for an almost four hour film.  much like Marty’s previous film, The Irishman (2019), the themes of regret and pain over what you’ve done are still here but to a lesser degree.  these men may regret what they’ve done, but in the end, it’s still all about money.  greed is more powerful than any regret.  i don’t think this is as upsetting as some people will try to say, i could watch this again with no issue, this isn’t a film like Schindler’s List (1993) where there’s a constant threat and reminder of what’s happening, and you never get a break from it.  it still holds Marty’s signature styles (the tracking shots, WOO!) and the score is really really well done

Killers of the Flower Moon is a very beautiful and powerful reminder of our humanity and how disgusting we can be and what we can do for a little cash.  i teared up a couple times in the theater, and clapped when it finished, that last scene is so incredibly haunting.  Martin Scorsese said that he rewrote the movie because he was realizing it was all about the white guy, but i really don’t see how it couldn’t be about the native americans, i think he made a good choice in that because it feels a lot more like youre seeing both sides of what’s happening, but it’s easier to sympathize for the side that’s dying.  i had a great theater experience, except for the elderly couple behind me who kept talking the entire time, that wasn’t fun.  overall, Martin Scorsese and his team have made one of the greatest films of the year; and something that deserves the praise it gets.  thank you Marty