Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon: A gripping tale of forgotten injustices in American History
Martin Scorsese's highly-anticipated film, «Killers of the Flower Moon,» featuring A-list actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and Lily Gladstone, audiences are transported to the dark and haunting history of the 1920s Osage murders in Oklahoma. This cinematic masterpiece sheds light on a sinister chapter in American history, and Caryn James delves into the terrible true story that inspired the film.
«They won't remember,» says Robert De Niro's character in the film, reflecting the delusion of William Hale, a cattle baron in 1920s Oklahoma, who believed the Osage Nation would forget the systematic killings of their wealthy members for oil money.
This grim past was largely forgotten until David Grann's 2017 bestseller, «Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI,» brought these events back to the forefront. Grann reveals that many people expressed disbelief at not having learned about this dark history, emphasizing the prejudice that allowed these crimes to occur.
The heart of this narrative revolves around Mollie Burkhart (played by Lily Gladstone), an oil-rich Osage whose family faced relentless targeting, with one sister shot to death, another's house firebombed, and their mother likely poisoned.
