The first film to depict the “Reign of Terror,” the killing of Osage Native Americans in 1920’s Oklahoma, Killers follows WWI vet Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) as he gets roped into a sinister organized crime ring headed by his powerful uncle, William King Hale (Robert De Niro). The two hatch a plan to murder prominent Osage tribe members and claim the insurance money linked to their invaluable oil holdings; however,  a wrench gets thrown in their scheme when Burkhart falls in love with an Osage woman, Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone). 

While Gladstone—one of the few Native American women in Hollywood—and DiCaprio have stellar performances depicting the ups and downs of a marriage amplified by Burkhart’s deceit, Gladstone’s character, Mollie Kyle, is generally glossed over by both the script and the cameras. Despite being one of the few Osage characters with lines in a movie based around the tribe, Kyle is viewed as an afterthought, and given minimal screen time considering her major role in the plot.

This problem is particularly glaring considering the movie’s staggering three hour runtime. An absurd amount of the film consists of conversations between Burkhart and Hale, each with varying levels of dryness, much of which contributes minimal value to the actual plot itself. Instead of focusing on the terror among the Osage people in the 1920’s, Killers seems to be primarily focused on DiCaprio and De Niro’s characters picking random street-criminals (with no depth, mind you) to murder innocent Osage.

While a valiant effort was made by its seasoned cast and director, Killers of the Flower Moon falls short of the expectations it set for itself. Instead of learning about murders of Native Americans that have received little attention throughout the history of the U.S, I found myself walking out of the theater wishing I had just stayed home and watched a good documentary on the subject instead.