Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” wows at Cannes Film Festival with its sweeping American epic

Martin Scorsese’s latest film, “Killers of the Flower Moon,” was unveiled at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, impressing viewers with its grandeur, expansive cast, and sweeping story about greed and exploitation on an Osage Nation reservation in 1920s Oklahoma. The movie is adapted from the nonfiction bestseller of David Grann’s novel and cost Apple $200 million to produce. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, and Robert De Niro, the nearly three-and-a-half-hour film has been one of the most highly anticipated films at the Cannes Film Festival.

The historical epic, crime film, and Great Plains Western did not disappoint at Cannes, where it received a lengthy standing ovation and repeated cheers for Scorsese. The film’s red carpet attracted a wide spectrum of stars, from the cast to Apple CEO Tim Cook, and actors Cate Blanchett, Salma Hayek, Paul Dano, and Isabelle Huppert.

Scorsese and co-writer Eric Roth framed their story on Ernest Burkhart, a WWI veteran who falls for Mollie Brown, a member of a wealthy Osage family. The Osage were the richest people per capita in the country, thanks to the oil reserves on their land. However, white guardians appointed to oversee their wealth tightly controlled it. A series of murders incited growing concern and panic as the Osage were preyed upon by greedy killers.

While Grann’s book afforded many possible inroads to the story, Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” captured the manipulation and murders of Native American people through the Ernest and Mollie’s relationship. While a murder investigation plays a role in the story (with Jesse Plemons playing an agent from the just-formed Bureau), less time is spent on it.

Speaking to the crowd after the screening, Scorsese reflected on the film. “We shot this a couple of years ago in Oklahoma. It’s taken its time to come around, but Apple did so great by us,” he said. “There was lots of grass. I’m a New Yorker.”

Out of competition in Cannes, “Killers of the Flower Moon” is set to open in theaters across the U.S. on October 6, and viewers are expecting it to be a hit.

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