An excerpt from Reals’ script review for Killers of the Flower Moon which will be available 12/11/23:
What Worked
An Important Subject – The treatment of the Osage people and how their tribe was attacked and abused once oil was discovered on their land is an important subject that hasn’t really been examined in mainstream films.
Of course, it is not a pleasant subject, nor does it reflect well on many of those involved, so it is easy to understand why filmmakers have been reluctant to tackle this.
I am not a historian, nor an expert on this subject, so I want to keep my focus on the screenplay. With that in mind, I do think that this story would have made for a better miniseries. There is just so much to cover, and so many characters involved, that I feel if the story had been given a bit more time to breathe it would have been an even more impactful depiction of these events.
As I said above, I have had several friends who saw this in the theater, and they all recommended waiting until it came to streaming so that you could break up the watch into multiple parts.
Netflix did a similar thing with Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight when it was released on Netflix as a four-part miniseries. I think that this would be ideal for a piece like this, so we will see if it is ever broken up into sections to make viewing easier.
Mollie – On the bottom of Page 23 and then onto Page 24, Mollie has a conversation with her sisters about Ernest. Here, we learn that she knows that he is just with her for the money coming out of the Osage land, but a marriage to him (a white man) will also provide benefits for her, such as not having to answer to a “guardian” – in this case a KKK grand wizard named Pitts Beaty.
I like this scene, because it gives real agency to the character and lets us know that she is clever and able to hold her own.
Tom White – I like Tom White’s character – the “Man in the Hat” as he is described in the script, or the FBI Agent looking into the deaths. It is a shame that we don’t meet him until Page 97, as he adds some energy to the script and is a character I wanted to see more of.
Though, his absence until this point is addressed when Tom meets the Tribal Council on Page 100.
CHIEF BONNICASTLE
Why are you here now?
TOM WHITE
I’ve only just been asked to come.
PAUL RED EAGLE
Is that because McBride was killed… a white man?… Or that we paid the Government $20,000?
TOM WHITE
I don’t think it’s too late to find out who’s doing this…
William Hale – Don’t get me wrong here, William Hale (or King, as he likes to be called) is a despicable character. But he is a very good antagonist – resourceful, menacing, cruel – and one the reader has no issues rooting against.
On a side note, I have heard people talking about Leo for awards consideration, but Hale is played by Robert De Niro. His character has such a major role that I wonder if he is going to surprise everyone when nominations are announced.
Especially his last scene with Ernest (Leonardo DiCaprio), around Page 142.
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