The Movie Minute

By Joanna Langfield

What a confluence of greatness here. Martin Scorsese and a collection of artists have given us a gift of stunning cinema that’s also a big, epic movie. And it is so much fun to watch.

Huge and complex, this story is also profoundly intimate. It’s a Western, a crime story, a tale of love and American history. All of it is complicated, facing parts of our history many want to erase. But, while reminding us of the betrayals arrogance and greed can bring, the masters at work here never forget to keep the pace moving, the story swirling and wrapping us in, on so many levels, for what is a surprisingly zippy three and a half hours.

Based on the best selling book, we are told the harrowing tale of the Osage Nation, a tribe of Native Americans saved from extinction when they hit oil on their land back in 1920’s Oklahoma. Initially, things look almost idyllic when Ernest Burkhart comes to town. Put to work by his benevolent uncle, “King”, Ernest soon meets the compelling Mollie, an Osage as grounded as she is wealthy. Theirs seems a beautiful pairing. If they can ignore the killings that have been happening. Which becomes more and more impossible.

Scorsese and editor Thelma Schoonmaker have what feels like a symbiotic relationship themselves, often bringing us work that addresses some of what is the worst in us with an energy and drive that thrills as well as makes us question our own moralities. They do the same here, maybe with an even greater, poetic sense that mirrors the Native way of life. It also may reflect an understanding that has aged finely, as, of course, have the filmmakers. Glorious work, too, from screenwriter Eric Roth, Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, Production Designer Jack Fisk and Musician Robbie Robertson, all of whom provide a great canvas for the actors to paint upon.

And boy do they ever. You will hardly be able to take your eyes away from Lily Gladstone, but you won’t want to miss a second of what Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert DeNiro are doing. Both men, flirting with characters they have played before, now bring even greater depth and, often, humor as sharp as their sadness. How lucky are we to get to watch all of these creative people, coming together, at the top of their game.