Killers of the Flower Moon

Official Australian release date: 19/10/23. Viewed: 22/10/23.
Director: Martin Scorsese
Actors: Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Scott Shepherd
Genre: Drama / Biopic
Rating: M

 

‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ is Scorsese’s 3^rd 3-hour-plus film in the past 10 years, and the 10^th film directed by him starring Robert De Niro, and 6^th film starring Leonardo DiCaprio. This film proves a case of “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it”. While not necessarily an “epic”, it is a very well put together story, set just in the 1920s in Oklahoma, where Ernest (DiCaprio) is returning from WWI to live with his uncle, Hale (De Niro) and brother Byron (Shepherd). They’re the white folk trying to cash in on the Native Americans who have found oil and are becoming rich – the Osage people.

Rather than focusing solely on white men subjugating the native population, the film does well to establish a few key characters to follow over a number of years and watch their (unfortunately true) stories unfold. Critical to this is Mollie (Gladstone), an Osage woman, who Ernest falls in love with and marries. What happens to her and her extended family over the course of the film is both tragic and hard-to-believe, but also sadly within the realms of human evil.

The film is helped by Gladstone delivering an excellent performance that holds everything together and acts as a benchmark for the other characters. DiCaprio is also good, but this is arguably De Niro’s best performance in the last 15 years, as he plays a subtle hand as the seemingly benevolent Hale, as his true intentions are slowly revealed. The supporting cast are good, including Millie’s sisters and the FBI/lawyers when they finally come into play in the final third. It’s well-paced, with a good wrap-up and at no point did I feel bored. Probably not Scorsese’s best ever, but up there with ‘Casino’, ‘Raging Bull’ and ‘Gangs of New York’.

Overall: Excellent story of human greed.

Gav's Rating: 4 stars

A Haunting In Venice

Official Australian release date: 14/9/23. Viewed: 14/10/23.
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Actors: Kenneth Branagh, Tina Fey, Michelle Yeoh, Kelly Reilly
Genre: Drama / Mystery
Rating: M

 

‘A Haunting in Venice’ is the third (and maybe final?) film in the Agatha Christie series directed by Kenneth Branagh, and starring him as genius detective Hercule Poirot, after ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ and ‘Death on the Nile’. This time, 1947 Venice is the setting, with the Italian canals and rooftops adding to the overall vibe. Poirot is coxed out of retirement by Ariadne (Fey) to come to a Halloween party and séance to disprove a medium, Reynolds (Yeoh).

Obviously, someone is murdered and Poirot is back on the case. The plot is thickened, as Rowena (Reilly)’s daughter mysteriously died in the past year, and we’re not sure how it’s connected. There’s a fine-line tread between ghosts/spirits here and Poirot’s scepticism/logic. All is eventually revealed. Once the murder occurs, there are 10 suspects left in the palazzo – including a Doctor (Dornan), bodyguard (Portfoglio), ex-boyfriend Maxim (Allen) and housekeeper (Cottin) – and Poirot goes about collecting their stories and alibis.

This film is shorter than previous two films, but does seem a bit scattershot for the first 30min, with lots of odd cuts and camera angles, mostly trying to put us of the scent of what’s actually happening. But I did feel that Poirot felt a little tired and lacked some verve. Might just be that Branagh is now in his 60s! Since it’s set in the early hours of Halloween in an old building in the 40s, there’s a lot of darkness/candle-lighting, so it’s sometimes hard to see what’s going on. The culprit is a bit of a surprise, and the reasoning just makes sense.

Overall: Still a good mystery, but not my favourite of the 3

Gav's Rating: 3 stars