Director: Martin Scorsese
Stars: Leonard DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone
8/10
This long-awaited film is based on a string of murders that took place in the Osage tribal lands in Oklahoma back in the 1920s. The victims were Osages who’d benefited from revenue when oil is discovered. Many became middle class, some quite wealthy. A clique of outsiders led by a local notable set about to cash in.
Ernest Burkhart (DiCaprio), just back from World War One, goes to his uncle, William Hale (De Niro), a local power holder, to find work. Recognizing an asset, Hale apprises him of tremendous opportunities to get ahead if willing to apply himself and stay loyal to him. Burkhart becomes a driver for a wealthy Osage woman and marries her. Uncle, nephew, and others go about doing in several Osage which channels the estates into the clique’s hands. The Osage people are predisposed to diabetes and alcoholism which is often used to explain severe deaths. Burkhart’s wife becomes ill but summons the strength to seek government help. Federal agents come on to investigate.
DiCaprio puts in a fine performance as an opportunistic neer-do-well who loves his wife but is nonetheless complicit in the killings. DeNiro puts in one of his best performances in years as the sociopathic mastermind who poses convincingly as a great friend of the Osage people. Brendan Fraser and John Lithgow come in late as attorneys and grab attention. Several Native American actors put in fine performances as hapless victims and persistent seekers of justice. One of them, Lily Gladstone, was nominated for an Oscar.
It’s a beautiful film to watch. The lighting, sets, and composition are stellar and often haunting – as with the death of an Osage matriarch. And we get interesting looks at prosperous indigenous peoples with elegant clothing and jaunty cars – the roaring twenties on the plains. The film is 3 1/2 hours long and as with Scorsese’s Gangs of New York, it has many memorable scenes but could have used editing. However, no one could tell Tom Clancy his books were too long and the same holds for Scorsese and his movies. I sat through Gangs of New York in a theater and regretted it. This one I enjoyed in my living room.
Scorsese delivers a poignant look at dreadful events involving the Osage people but never descends to political clichés of our day. We don’t pity them, we respect them and are pleased to see justice done. One question nagged me. The murders go on for years and it would seem that the Osage, gentle and trusting though they were, could’ve figured out what was up before the Feds showed up.
©2024 Brian M Downing
Brian M Downing is a national security analyst who’s written for outlets across the political spectrum. He studied at Georgetown University and the University of Chicago, and did post-graduate work at Harvard’s Center for International Affairs. Thanks as ever to fellow Hoya Susan Ganosellis.