'Killers of the Flower Moon' review: Scorsese rallies DiCaprio, De Niro for a bloody tale in the West

MANILA, Philippines — There is undeniably no question that Martin Scorsese is the greatest living filmmaker today, and he further cements that title with his newest film "Killers of the Flower Moon," starring two longtime collaborators, Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert de Niro.

The movie is based on the 2017 novel of the same name by David Grann, circling around the mysterious murders of Osage Nation members in Oklahoma shortly after oil was discovered on the land tribes settled on.

DiCaprio plays war veteran Ernest Burkhart, who arrives in Fairfax county, to live with his uncle William "King" Hale, a man of immense influence in the county who encourages his nephew to pursue tribal member Mollie (played by Lily Gladstone).

Mollie would inherit her family's oil-filled land should her sickly mother and sisters pass away, which is an unsettling thought as killings and deaths among the Osage Nation occur without investigation by authorities.

"Killers of the Flower Moon" premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and was supposed to stream first on Apple TV+, however, it was greenlit to screen in cinemas first instead. It is Scorsese's first movie at Cannes in almost 40 years. 

This appeared to be a key decision as Scorsese's film is a sprawling three-and-a-half hour crime-western epic that dives into a bloody chapter of American history, particularly about the country's first inhabitants, the Osage people, who were subjected to unfair treatment by the white men in power.

Scorsese pays respect to the Osage Nation by bookending his movie with tribal rituals, even giving them an introduction through old film clips, and allowing indigineous actors like Gladstone to revel in scenes even with big names like DiCaprio and De Niro in the immediate vicinity.

Related:  DiCaprio praises Scorsese's epic 'reckoning with past' at Cannes

The two Oscar winners' characters drive the screenplay by Scorsese and Eric Roth forward, expertly weaving through all the efforts the men are willing to go through to cover their tracks in search of wealth and power — two things not as congruent as the Osage people have experienced.

DiCaprio's bumbling, money-hungry Burkhart is reminiscent of his