Parents' Guide to

Killers of the Flower Moon

By Jeffrey M. Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Masterful American epic about greed, violence, and racism.

Movie R 2023 206 minutes
Killers of the Flower Moon Movie Poster: Ernest (Leonardo DiCaprio) looks serious while Mollie (Lily Gladstone) rests her head against his chest, her eyes closed

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age 15+

Based on 8 parent reviews

Teresa B.
Teresa B. Adult
November 6, 2023
age 15+

A Powerful Reckoning With History

KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON No spoilers. At the end of the film, people just stood in silence. There was none of the usual post-film flurry. We stood in silence watching the credits roll, an almost reverence for the narrative we had just witnessed. The film is extraordinary. It is epic storytelling that pays enormous respect to truth-telling. Killers Of The Flower Moon is a historical reckoning. In my opinion, it’s Martin Scorsese’s finest work. At eighty years of age, he is immune to the consequences of taking risks. He told the story of white complicity in the erasure of the Osage Nation’s history and he told it with a level of respect for the Osage that I have never before seen on screen. Yesterday, I watched an interview with Chief Standing Bear of the Osage. He spoke about how his people’s story is one of trust and betrayal. The emotion in the room was palpable when he said that Martin Scorscase’s portrayal of the Osage Nation’s story has restored trust. The healing in that statement serves serves as a testament to the transformative power of storytelling, The research that went into Killers Of The Flower Moon exceeds anything I have ever read about film preparation. It took eight years. Scorscase said that the more he found out about the Osage, the more he wanted to put in. He spent years sitting in tribal council with the Osage, listening. He filmed in Oklahoma, home of the Osage nation and he brought Osage into every stage of the entire movie-making process. The Osage were in front and behind the cameras. They designed the costumes and the set. Traditional Osage songs were used and most powerful of all, the Osage language, a language which is endangered, was used frequently throughout the film. Everything, right down to the coloured stripes on blankets and the meaning and orientation of those stripes, has been authenticated by the Osage. Yet again, Leonardo proves his remarkable talent. So does Robert DiNiro. But it is Lily Gladstone, in her portrayal of Molly, who truly anchors the entire film. She is hypnotic to watch. Her grace and power is captivating as she brings to life the unyielding spirit of the Osage woman at the heart of this story. Lily Gladstone is talented beyond measure. She deserves every accolade for her work in this film. With a run time of three and a half hours, Killers Of The Flower Moon holds the audience captivated from the first scene to the last. It does not miss a beat throughout. This film exemplifies a true masterclass in filmmaking. More significantly, it represents a momentous stride for Hollywood, where unfiltered truth-telling takes precedence over white sensitivities. It’s an exceptional experience. I cannot recommend this film enough.
uy H.
uy H. Adult
November 3, 2023
age 16+

I really loved this movie but it simply was way too long. I like long movies, I like slow cinema but there is still the concept of economy or story telling. I wish he would allow himself to "kill his darlings" and cut like almost an hour out of this. One of his justifications is that people "sit and binge tv shows for 4-5 hours" but it's not at all the same. The form and structure of television and film are completely different, he knows that. It really just feels like self indulgence because he's at the end of his career and nobody is going to tell him no. Self indulgence is the death of a lot of great artist once they find success. Particularly Scorsese, all of his most respected films (maybe with the exception of casino) even if they had a slightly longer run-time were completely trimmed of fat. Every shot, every line has a point in advancing the plot and was very economical. This adaptation felt like it made all the mistakes of adapting from a novel to film. I would absolutely love an edit of this film that is maybe 2 hours long and could easily been done. It would have been more emotionally impactful, interesting and still honored the story and the people it was about. The Osage, which was definitely the most interesting part of the film. But gets swept up in a stale courtroom drama that we've seen a million times and could have been a couple of short scenes. https://gamma.app/public/-EP8-8-THAI-xtpfh8d1nyzbvzj https://gamma.app/public/-Ep-8--02z1s42dcyug421 https://gamma.app/public/-EP-8-HD--oyqnqabsd6y13wk https://gamma.app/public/-EP-9-HD--zuynxiy04vsa9b1 https://gamma.app/public/-EP9-9-THAI-bu56acn816scd97 https://gamma.app/public/-Ep-9--li77dkxh5yknn1l https://gamma.app/public/-EP-10-HD--zs4j5z6fsotgew6 https://gamma.app/public/-EP10-10-THAI-o7rwuacs6b8rtar https://gamma.app/public/-Ep-10--cz6kd5kfh51syyj https://www.datacamp.com/portfolio/lovedestiny-ep-8 https://www.datacamp.com/portfolio/love-destiny-2-ep-9 https://www.datacamp.com/portfolio/love-desitny-ep-10 
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What's the Story?

In KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON, it's early in the 20th century in the United States, and the people of the Osage Nation discover oil on their land. They immediately become extraordinarily wealthy, leading unscrupulous White people to begin scheming about ways to get the money for themselves -- including marrying into Osage families. Meanwhile, Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) comes home from war and goes to work as a driver for his wealthy cattle-rancher uncle, William "King" Hale (Robert De Niro). He gives Mollie (Lily Gladstone), an Osage woman, a ride and immediately becomes attracted to her. They eventually marry for love, but King sees an opportunity. If certain members of Mollie's family were to suddenly pass away, then the oil rights would revert to the easily manipulated Ernest. Thus begins a tapestry of violent deaths, followed by more deaths to cover up the earlier deaths, until enough becomes enough, and Mollie travels to Washington, D.C., to bring the matter to the president.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (8 ):
Kids say (8 ):

Martin Scorsese's masterful movie is a fatalistic American epic of greed and violence, without any false idealism, as well as a brutal true-crime story. Whereas Scorsese's last outing, The Irishman, had a more reflective mood, Killers of the Flower Moon -- which has the breadth and depth of The Godfather -- finds him back in fighting shape, though the race-based murders will test a viewer's tolerance level for watching human atrocities take place on screen.

Scorsese casts his two favorite actors (who, combined, have appeared in 15 of the director's 26 feature films) together for the first time. De Niro and DiCaprio bring out the best (or worst?) in each other as they dive into their not-so-nice characters. Scorsese zips through the complex plot -- taken from the nonfiction book by David Grann -- like a bullet, building roadblocks and raising the stakes so neatly and cleverly that the movie's three-and-a-half-hour runtime never feels padded or inflated. Moreover, Killers of the Flower Moon works as a reevaluation of Kevin Costner's Dances with Wolves, which required a noble White hero to tell its positive tale of Native Americans. In contrast, Scorsese's movie shows White people as greedy, merciless, and racist, while the Osage are taken advantage of. True, it's another movie about Native peoples told from the perspective of White men. But this is a modern epic that uses more cultural sensitivity than we've seen in the past, inviting viewers to remember and reckon with the ugly legacy of what happened to the Osage peoples and how American greed continues to undermine Indigenous peoples today.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Killers of the Flower Moon's violence. How did it make you feel? Was it nauseating? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?

  • How does the movie depict racism? What are some obvious examples, and which are more subtle? Are characters portrayed three-dimensionally, or are stereotypes used?

  • How did you feel about Ernest? Is he truly in love with his wife? Is he a bad person? Why does he do the things he does?

  • How are alcohol and cigarettes portrayed? Are they glamorized? Are there consequences? Why does that matter?

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