Overview
One of the best directors to ever step behind the camera. Two of the absolute top living actors. An unnerving true tale. A Cannes-premiering film. That's a helluva combination — aka Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, events in the 1920s in Osage County in Oklahoma and Killers of the Flower Moon. And, if you're not already excited, a third trailer for the soon-to-release movie has just been unveiled.
Every Scorsese film is worth waiting for, but Killers of the Flower Moon has been decades in the making. The nonfiction book that the acclaimed director's latest film adapts also steps a century back, detailing a time when members of the Osage Nation became wealthy through oil, then targets for white interlopers. To bring this real-life story to the screen, the filmmaker has finally united DiCaprio and De Niro in one of his full-length flicks, too, after spending decades working with both separately.
The end result, and Scorsese's first feature since 2019's The Irishman, premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival in May. Next, it's headed to cinemas Down Under in October and then Apple TV+ after that.
De Niro and DiCaprio have been in so many of the legendary director's movies that it's rare for any of his titles to not include one or the other. The former's run gave viewers gangster masterpieces such as Mean Streets, Goodfellas and Casino; also spans the iconic Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and The King of Comedy; and covers musical New York, New York and thriller remake Cape Fear, too — and, of course The Irishman. The latter began leading Scorsese's films in the early 2000s, kicking off with Gangs of New York, then starring in The Aviator, The Departed, Shutter Island and The Wolf of Wall Street. That's a mighty impressive resume for both actors, and for their favourite helmer.
Killers of the Flower Moon is actually the second time that De Niro and DiCaprio have joined forces for Scorsese, but the first time in one of his features, with the pair playing themselves in the director's 2015 comedy short The Audition. The actors also have a past on-screen beyond that thanks to the non-Marty helmed This Boy's Life in 1993, back when DiCaprio was still a teen.
Its main talents aside, Killers of the Flower Moon has looking backwards on its mind as well. As seen in the initial teaser in May, then the first full trailer and now this just-dropped next sneak peek, the film jumps into a series of real-life of murders. DiCaprio (Don't Look Up) and Certain Women standout Lily Gladstone play Ernest Burkhart and Mollie Kyle, a couple that gets caught up in the investigations surrounding the mounting killings — with Burkhart facing off against his scheming uncle William Hale (De Niro, Amsterdam).
The deaths start when oil turns the Osage Nation into some of the richest folks on the planet, and quickly, which attracts the wrong kind of notice — attention fuelled by greed and envy, and resulting in manipulation, extortion and homicide. Killers of the Flower Moon surveys that story through Burkhart, Kyle and their romance, while also taking in the bitter resentment (and worse) expressed by Hale.
Scorsese also co-wrote the screenplay with Eric Roth (Dune, and an Oscar-winner for Forest Gump), adapting David Gann's 2017 non-fiction book Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI.
And, movie co-stars Jesse Plemons (Love & Death), John Lithgow (Sharper) and newly minted Best Actor Oscar-winner Brendan Fraser (The Whale). Oh, and Scorsese himself, albeit in a small part.
Check out the latest trailer for Killers of the Flower Moon below:
Killers of the Flower Moon releases in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, October 19, and will then stream via Apple TV+ at a later date — we'll update you with streaming details when they're announced.