Director Martin Scorsese’s upcoming movie Killers of the Flower Moon intends to showcase how real love crosses paths with unspeakable betrayal and inexplicable killings. Set against the backdrop of the 20th century, the true story is adapted from a book penned by author David Granny in 2017. Manoeuvring through budding romance, the film centres on the discovery of oil in the land of the Osage nation that kick-starts a series of heinous extortion and murders to drain the tribe out of their wealth. Notably, the crime epic marks the sixth collaboration of Leonardo DiCaprio and the filmmaker. Now, here’s the main cast of the movie, going behind the scenes to divulge interesting details of their characters.
Leonardo DiCaprio as Ernest Burkhart
DiCaprio found his character Ernest Bukhart in Martin Scorsese’s true crime epic “absolutely fascinating." He describes Ernest’s real life as the sheer “representation of the incredible greed of that time." For those unaware, the character upon reaching Oklahoma ultimately falls in love with Lily Gladstone’s Mollie. Director Martin Scorsese reveals, “Ernest is under a very strong influence of his uncle Hale and finds himself getting deeper into murder assignments."
Lily Gladstone as Mollie Burkhart
While discussing her powerful role in Killers of the Flower Moon, Lily Gladstone stated feeling an immense responsibility toward her character. Notably, her family falls prey to blatant extortion and murder to drain them out of money in the film. “Oil wealth brought a lot of undesired attention to Osage country. When the murders start happening, Mollie challenges the justice system. It’s a powerful film and I’m honoured to stand with the Osage nation and the descendants of those who perished," she concluded. Meanwhile, Leonardo DiCaprio believes Lily’s character truly “embodies the pain of Osage people."
Robert De Niro as William King Hale
Actor Robert De Niro plays one of the most monstrous roles of William King Hale in the film. Lily expresses that his character has an “enigmatic presence" in the Osage country. It is Hale who encourages Ernest to marry Mollie with a sinister plan. Ultimately, he wanted to acquire Mollie’s family shares in the oil profits.
Leonardo DiCaprio says, “William King uses that (Ernest’s love for Mollie) as an opportunity to prey upon her. He definitely represented somebody to take advantage of the situation at all costs."
Martin Scorsese also sheds light on the reason why it was important for him to do justice to the story. “Killers of the Flower Moon was a series of murders of Osage men and women to bilk them at the discovery of oil on their land. I was drawn to the idea of telling this terribly tragic story that was never brought to national attention," he said of the plot. The filmmaker reveals that he wanted to capture the love that existed in Osage when blatant extortion, exploitation, and the sinister nature of murders took reigns in the nation. “I wanted to do justice to the Osage so that the audience feels immensely of the tragedy," he concluded.
Killers of the Flower Moon hits the theatres on October 20.
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