Martin Scorcese’s latest film Killers of the Flower Moon released over the weekend, and while it’s drawn acclaim from critics, many Indigenous people across North America have had conflicting thoughts about it.
Mohawk-Canadian actress Devery Jacobs, who starred in the FX series Reservation Dogs, took to Twitter after seeing the movie to detail her “strong feelings” about Scorcese’s film.
“Being Native, watching this movie was fucking hellfire,” she began. “Imagine the worst atrocities committed against [your] ancestors, then having to sit thru a movie explicitly filled w/ them, w/ the only respite being 30min long scenes of murderous white guys talking about/planning the killings.”
Jacobs continued by expressing that she wished the movie told more stories about the Osage characters and had hoped for better character development.
“Now, I can understand that Martin Scorsese’s technical direction is compelling & seeing $200mil on screen is a sight to behold. I get the goal of this violence is to add brutal shock value that forces people to understand the real horrors that happened to this community, BUT— I don’t feel that these very real people were shown honor or dignity in the horrific portrayal of their deaths.”
“Contrarily, I believe that by showing more murdered Native women on screen, it normalizes the violence committed against us and further dehumanizes our people.”
While she did list numerous criticisms of the film, she praised Lily Gladstone’s performance of Molie Burkhart who she said was “an absolute legend & carried Mollie w/ tremendous grace.”
Jacobs added that she wished these stories would be told by Indigenous writers and directors and didn’t center white people who were actively destructive in Indigenous territories at the time.
The actress concluded her thread by condemning the Oklahomans who benefitted off of the atrocities depicted in film.
“And a massive Fuck You to the real life, white Oklahomans, who still carry and benefit from these blood-stained headrights,” Jacobs wrote.”
Shortly before the movie came out, the film’s language consultant Christopher Cote explained his conflicted feelings about the movie and the events Scorcese is depicting.
Those who have yet to see the movie and want to be prepared can take a look at Complex's list of things you need to know before seeing Killers of the Flower Moon.
