Member-only story
OSCARS
An Epidemic of Murder-The Killers of the Flower Moon Review
Scorsese’s murder mystery
The actual murder mystery of what happened to the Osage people in the 1920s is very complex and took place over several years. Several murders were committed and several investigations were instituted; leading nowhere. Director Martin Scorsese simplified the complex story to present a linear timeline in the Killers of the Flower Moon.
The Osage Tribe was forced into relocation on land in Oklahoma many years before this story picks up. Later, oil was discovered on this land the Osage Tribe owned. They became wealthy overnight.
But members of the Osage Tribe were systematically eliminated. Some married white men, losing control over their land. Some were murdered. Some lost control of their finances and land rights by wealthy white bankers. Members of the tribe were found with “wasting sickness” as they were slowly poisoned to death. One particular family was systematically murdered, one by one. Mollie Burkhart (Lily Gladstone), nearly lost her life and…
