Killers of the Flower Moon is an upcoming film that has already received critical acclaim and is guaranteed to top awards season.
Directed by Martin Scorsese, the film has a running time of 3 hours and 26 minutes and is based on the 2017 non-fiction book of the same name written by David Grann and starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Ernest Burkhart. And while Leo is undoubtedly a major player in Hollywood, he’s not the most talked about person in the cast. In fact, it is actress Lily Gladstone who, as an American actress of Blackfoot and Nimiipuu descent, is undoubtedly the perfect person to bring the role of Molly Kyle to the big screen.
To appreciate her role as Molly, it’s important to understand the premise Killers of the Flower Moon. The official synopsis for the film on Apple TV+ reads: “When oil was discovered underground in Osage land in 1920s Oklahoma, the Osages were killed one by one—until the FBI stepped in to solve the mystery.”
The film tells not only the story of the investigation of the 24 Osage murders, which is mainly described in the book, but also the love story of Ernest and Molly.
In making the film, director Martin worked closely with Osage Chief Chief Jeffrey Standing Bear, who reflected on the actual events of the film as a “deep betrayal” of his people. Speaking at a press conference for Killers of the Flower Moon in May he added: “My people suffered greatly, and to this day we feel the consequences. But I can say on behalf of the Osages that Marty Scorsese and his team have restored trust, and we know that trust will not be betrayed.”