Mark Kermode reviews Killers of the Flower Moon - Kermode and Mayo's Take

killers of of the flower Moon which is the new film by uh Martin scorsi uh this is a sprawl it's nearly 3 and a half hours long um and it's based on a 2017 non-fiction book by David Gran which I haven't read you might have done which is subtitled the oage murders and the birth of the FBI opening Montage tells us that turn the century the oage nation who living on some of the least desirable land in Oklahoma nay America strike it rich when they strike oil suddenly they're wealthy and that wealth attracted interest from white people who had previously shunned the area but now suddenly become very very interested in it so in the film Leonardo de Caprio is earnest returning home from war where he was a cook during battle seeking a new life with the help of his uncle William King halil played by Robert dairo he says don't call me Uncle call me King everyone calls him King which is kind of tells you something about his character King King explains that there is money to be made here that money flows freely in this land one of the ways of making it is to marry into the families of the uh of the indigenous people and then ensure that the ownership Deeds of their property and their money pass to them in the event of deaths and King suggests that nnest become a driver and in doing so he meets Molly played by Lily gladston who is currently unattached here's a clip he told me you was he was going with Matt Williams for a time you talk too much oh I don't talk too much thinking who I got to beat in this horse race that's all I didn't realize this was a race I don't care for watching horses well I'm a different kind of horse what was that that's how you are I don't know what you said but must have been Indian for handsome devil so a relationship starts to Blossom between them which you know that appears to be a genuine relationship but the women of the O Nation are reflected by diabetes there are increasingly large number of early or premature deaths and indeed murders and killings enough in the end that these attract the attention of federal officers led by Tom white played by Jesse plans so I um spoke to thus Schoonmaker who is uh uh the SC longtime editor who I we hope will be coming on the show next week and um she talked about how this was you know was a labor of love for for scolesi oh incidentally she said one thing I she said his name is pronounced scosi and I had I've always said scosi everyone says that no but apparently scosi and she was very very clear about this she said his name is pronounced Martin scosi and I am not in I am not arguing with FMA goon maker about how to pronounce I think that's right but the problem with that is if you in casual conversation talk about Mar School everyone else is going to say why are you saying it like that and I'm going to say because Thelma told me to and I am not arguing with her because an authority anyway so he had initially tried to make this before the Irishman it was an expensive film it's I think it's 200 million and it's Apple TV did it alongside Paramount so despite the fact that it has a proper theatrical release it will be seen by a large number of people on streaming which I think to some extent explains the extended running time because obviously you know we all hear stories about when people are making films for um Studios for theatrical exhibition then you end up having fights with the producers about can it be this long can it be this long if you're a streaming service they don't care you make it as long as you want and fine if so it is true and I think that this has to be said I think as a theatrical experience it is a testing running time I think that it felt that it was being that it had been put together in the knowledge that it could be as long as it wanted and I think there is a question at some point to be had about whether or not there is a different different thing between a streaming running time and a theatrical running time because I did feel that there were long go I mean it takes its time and it's not always time well spent it's not always it doesn't always look like it's been absolutely ruthlessly stripped back it is it is it is taking its time to tell its story in a way that we would we would associate or I would associate more with home viewing that said it has real big screen Beauty it's beautifully shot by Rodrigo Pio it you you you see it on the big screen and you think the visuals you know demand to be seen on the big screen it's also clearly heartfelt I mean apparently the tion had quite a lot of input into the script and the film which changed it quite a lot and which lends an authenticity to the story and the way the story is told because the story is quite horrifying in a sort of kind of understated way I mean it is a a fairly brutal depiction of the way in which these people have been exploited and you know it's it's done it's done in a kind of forensically methodical manner performances are great Leonardo DiCaprio's face he does this Grimace it's like I can't do it but like his mouth is turned down at either side he looks like he's constantly grimacing through the whole movie and it's almost as if he has reconfigured his face to look like somebody who who you know life has been hard to and is kind of grimacing in the face of the world Robert dairo really enjoys the role of King the you know the kind of the emperor the king M and he really relishes that but Lily gladston absolutely steals the show and you saw just a look despite the fact that the that her role necessarily involves her character becoming more and more passive as she becomes ill and as she's kind of starts to be sidelined by the narrative still she's like this glowing thing right at the heart of the drama and it's her who drags you into it and her who keeps you invested emotionally even when you you know on the one hand these two kind of titans of modern Cinema there is a score which I think you'll like very much by Robbie Robertson is bluesy and stripped down occasionally there's this like B bom bom base thing that just that will goes on for like minutes at a time just like a kind of PL it's almost like a heartbeat you're a Robbie Robertson fan anyway aren't you yeah I think you'll like that very much and the whole like I said the whole thing has a real heartfelt feel to it I would say however I do think that there is a proper debate to be had about when you're when you're being financed by streaming services and when running time isn't an issue whether there is such a thing as a as a as a as a as an ideal theatrical running time or an Ideal Home stream I did feel watching this in a cinema this doesn't actually need to be this long could it have been you know 4 One hours yes I think it probably could have probably could have been I think that's probably the case and in fact funly enough later on we'll we'll talk about the Jimmy savil uh drama which is for one hours and it you know we are just in an interesting point at the moment in which there is a tug of war between theatrical and streaming and whether or not you know like I said the everything about the visuals is big screen but something about the nature of the storytelling lends itself more obviously to the small screen and I'm not saying that means don't go and see it in the cinema what I'm saying is when you see it in the cinema you are more conscious of the fact that it is absolutely taking its time telling this story and you know look it's not that movies movies don't movies should be the length that they need to be and if I'm honest I don't know that this needed to be as long as it was but there are many many great things about it that shouldn't you know that shouldn't be a defining Factor how uh long do that sound fair yeah yeah yeah yeah I think so because three and a half hours just sound nothing needs to be that long but I can but you remember we used to talk about Monty Python's meaning of life that because they had an incredibly big budget it some of the discipline and rigor of being poor absolutely uh disappeared and some of the discipline and rigor of saying we've got to you know it can't be longer than 220 or 2 and a half hours is quite a useful thing isn't it that's I weirdly enough I believe that that is the case and you know I remember I had a conversation with Nigel Floyd once about we were we were sort of fighting for directors being allowed to have their own directors cuts and there was aliens the special edition you know this time it's this time it's more and all that stuff and and and I then I remember Kim Newman saying at what point can we all agree that the shorter version of wickerman is better I'm not saying that movies cannot be long but what I'm saying is that there is an ideal length for stories and that's that may not be the same for theatrical and home viewing and I think we are moving towards a point in which there may be a discussion about those two things how long's it in the cinema for it a few weeks I mean it's getting a proper theatrical release but it was but it it is it will excuse me it will be seen by a lot of people on streaming services because it's it's Apple thanks very much for watching this video I hope you enjoyed watching it as much as we enjoyed making it while you're here check out all the other videos cuz they're cool too AR they they are and if you want to keep up to date with everything kerm Mayo take then check out our social channels I mean why wouldn't you I mean I I would I have done excellent

Channel: Kermode and Mayo's Take

Views: 373,515

Keywords: Mark Kermode, Simon Mayo, Kermode and Mayo's Take, Film Review, TV Review

Id: 71e1ZhXRX8I

Length: 10min 9sec (609 seconds)

Published: Thu Oct 19 2023