‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ review: Uneven but engrossing drama from Scorsese

Getting your arms all the way around “Killers of the Flower Moon” is a tricky endeavor.

That isn’t only because of the film’s length — nearly three-and-a-half hours — although that’s certainly part of it.

An epic Western crime drama based on real and entirely stomach-turning events from roughly a century ago, the latest film from acclaimed director Martin Scorsese could be seen as so many things. Among them: a treatise on greed and exploitation and a character study of the extremely flawed man at the center of the story, Ernest Burkhart.

And while it excels at being neither of those, Scorsese’s chronicling of the so-called “Reign of Terror” experienced by the Osage nation — during which many of its members were systematically killed by those wishing to obtain the Native American group’s oil-related wealth — it nonetheless is a largely compelling and engaging cinematic experience.

In theaters this week and bound for Apple TV+ at some point down the line, “Flower Moon” moves more fluidly than Scorsese’s previous film, the sometimes tedious and barely longer 2019 affair “The Irishman.” 

This time, one of the stars of the latter, Robert De Niro, shares the screen with another Scorsese regular, Leonardo DiCaprio. It is an acting tandem that first starred opposite one another 30 years ago in “This Boy’s Life.” While the actors get plenty of screen time together here, DiCaprio is front and center Earnest, who arrives in Fairfax, Oklahoma, to work for his cattle-farming uncle, De Niro’s William “King” Hale.

After Scorsese shows us the 1894 discovery of the oil beneath the land belonging to the Osage nation — which, according to the film’s production notes, had been relocated to “Indian Territory” in Oklahoma by the American government — we see the immense wealth that follows for its people.

Ernest is one of many whites flooding into the town in the 1920s looking for a piece of the action. At first, he drives a cab for his uncle, which is how he first encounters Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone), a member of a wealthy Osage family. William encourages Ernest to get to know Mollie; were they to marry, he suggests, it would put Ernest on a path to a lucrative inheritance.

Mollie seems to know what Ernest is — a “coyote,” as she puts it — but she clearly is amused by him, and wed they do.

William’s scheming goes far beyond his plans for Ernest, of course, and at his direction, Osage nation members, many in their 20s and 30s, die mysteriously — and without investigation. Scorsese presents some of the murders, although he doesn’t seem as interested as he has at times in the past in portraying the violence in the most arresting manner possible.

Based on investigative journalist David Grann’s 2017 book “Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI,” the film has been in development for years by Scorsese, who was recruited for it by DiCaprio. Early on, Scorsese was crafting a narrative centered around Tom White, an FBI investigator portrayed in the film by “Irishman” alum Jesse Plemons. However, the final screenplay — co-written by Eric Roth (“Forrest Gump,” “The Insider”) shifts the focus to Ernest and, to a lesser degree, Mollie. It was a wise decision — as Scorsese says, we’ve seen similar lawman-focused approaches many times before.

Unfortunately, though, Ernest, an admitted lover of women and money, is a bit of a frustrating figure. He’s certainly in on his uncle’s nefarious mission, but he also seems to care, at least on some level, about Mollie — despite some actions that suggest otherwise. You could argue he’s a complex character, but he never becomes all that interesting, which is surprising given the talents of DiCaprio (“The Revenant,” “Gangs of New York”).

Meanwhile, De Niro’s William, a constant manipulator, is borderline-cartoonish, which is obviously disappointing. Scorsese and De Niro now have collaborated on 10 features, and you’ll find stronger work in the previous nine, especially in 1976’s “Taxi Driver” and 1990’s “Goodfellas.”

On the other hand, Gladstone (“Certain Women,” “Fancy Dance”) — who was raised on the Blackfeet Reservation in northwestern Montana and is from the Blackfeet and Nez Perce Tribal Nations — is the standout of the film. Unfortunately, Mollie is relegated to the sidelines for a good chunk of “Flower Moon,” but, still, Gladstone’s performance lends humanity to the proceedings. If her work isn’t the film’s heart, it is its soul.

Numerous supporting players bring a little something to “Flower Moon,” including Scott Shepherd (“The Last of Us”) as Ernest’s murderous brother, Byron; John Lithgow (“Bombshell”) and Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”) as attorneys on opposite sides of a case; and several well-known musicians, including Jack White, Jason Isbell, Pete Yorn and Sturgill Simpson, the latter playing a larger role than the others.

Even as you wish for the sum of its parts to be greater, there is much to appreciate with this film, including interestingly constructed scene after interestingly constructed scene, as well as consultations with today’s Osage people, the inclusion of Osage cast members and the shooting of “Flower Moon” on location in Oklahoma on the Osage reservation.

Following Grann’s highly regarded book, the film further sheds light on a horrific chapter of history previously known to too few.

An Academy Award winner for 2006’s “The Departed,” Scorsese saves some of his best work for its coda, in which he appears and which places final punctuation on what happened and why it matters.

“Killers of the Flower Moon” isn’t ultimately among his strongest work — and, no, it need not be as lengthy as it is — but it’s still stronger than that of myriad other filmmakers.

‘Killers of the Flower Moon’

Where: Theaters.

When: Oct. 20.

Rated: R for violence, some grisly images, and language.

Runtime: three hours, 26 minutes.

Stars (of four): 3.