Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Written by: Eric Roth
SUMMARY The brutal story of how White people killed wealthy Native American tribespeople, the Osage, who controlled lands with oil. Ernest, working with his conniving uncle King, work to deceive and kill the Osage people to gain control of money, land, and oil.
RATING
C+
While this is a competently made film, and the filmmaking itself is good, jam-packed with gorgeous visuals and performances, the underlying content of this film is surprisingly despicable. This entire story is from the perspective of White people, and though they are supposedly the focus, the Osage people are thin, minor, shallow characters - essentially and always, a victim. At the end of the film - which bizarrely ends with a "radio show" being done "years from now" that dramatize the events (is this some self-critical denouncement of the film itself?) - the White people don't even get their comeuppance. It's a White savior story without a savior.
SUMMARY The brutal story of how White people killed wealthy Native American tribespeople, the Osage, who controlled lands with oil. Ernest, working with his conniving uncle King, work to deceive and kill the Osage people to gain control of money, land, and oil.
RATING
C+
While this is a competently made film, and the filmmaking itself is good, jam-packed with gorgeous visuals and performances, the underlying content of this film is surprisingly despicable. This entire story is from the perspective of White people, and though they are supposedly the focus, the Osage people are thin, minor, shallow characters - essentially and always, a victim. At the end of the film - which bizarrely ends with a "radio show" being done "years from now" that dramatize the events (is this some self-critical denouncement of the film itself?) - the White people don't even get their comeuppance. It's a White savior story without a savior.