Killers of the Flower Moon

That the history of the United States is steeped in much white violence against its native inhabitants is an undeniable fact. One of the many dark episodes in that history was described in 2017 by writer/journalist David Grann in his book Killers of the Flower Moon. When director Martin Scorsese read the book, he knew he had to film it. That resulted in this epic crime story, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, among others.

In the late 19th century, oil is found on the Osage people's reservation in Oklahoma, suddenly making the Osage a very rich people. This wealth attracts profiteers, crooks and criminals who want to get a piece of the pie, often with the help of violence. Also in the 1920s, like the not too savvy Ernest Burkhart (DiCaprio). His uncle William Hale (De Niro), who has good contacts on the reservation, devises a devious and cunning plan that requires Ernest to start a serious relationship with Mollie, a member of an Osage family made rich by oil. This plan works, but differently from what Hale had anticipated.