At its LA premiere last week, Osage community members who worked on Martin Scorsese’s “Killers Of The Flower Moon” expressed reservations about its depiction of the Osage Nation tribe. But their feedback isn’t nearly as harsh as how “Reservation Dogs” star Devery Jacobs feels about the new film. THR reports that the Indigenous actress (of Mohawk descent) has scathing words for Scorsese’s latest, and she took to social media to declare them.
“Being Native, watching this movie was fucking hellfire,” Jacobs wrote on her X and Instagram social media accounts. “Imagine the worst atrocities committed against yr 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.” For those who don’t already know, Jacobs’ diatribe references the film’s events, based on the real-life 1920s serial murder of Osage members by nearby White residents in a plot to collect money from the oil-rich Indigenous community.
Scorsese worked closely with many Osage community members as he developed the film, with several working on the film’s production. But Jacobs sees the end result as merely another stereotypical representation of Indigenous people that only further exploits them. “I don’t feel that these very real people were shown honor or dignity in the horrific portrayal of their deaths,” the actress continued. “Contrarily, I believe that by showing more murdered Native women on screen, it normalizes the violence committed against us and further dehumanizes our people.”
“Killers Of The Flower Moon” stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone as a White-Indigenous married couple at the center of the deadly conspiracy. Robert De Niro also stars as a calculating relative of DiCpario’s initiating the crimes. Scorsese and Eric Roth adapted David Grann’s 2017 book for the big screen. Grann’s book focuses more on investigating the Osage murders by a then-fledging FBI, while Scorsese’s film watches the events unfold from the vantage point of its central marriage.
In the lead-up to his film’s theatrical premiere, Scorsese commented that he deliberately shifted his script’s perspective to accommodate Indigenous people. But Jacobs doesn’t think the director’s portrayal works at all and feels that the Osage and other Indigenous peoples deserve a more multi-dimensional onscreen portrayal. “I can’t believe it needs to be said, but Indig ppl exist beyond our grief, trauma & atrocities,” Jacobs continued. “Our pride for being Native, our languages, cultures, joy & love are way more interesting & humanizing than showing the horrors white men inflicted on us.”
While Jacobs condemned Scorsese’s film, she did praise Gladstone’s performance as Mollie Burkhart. “Give Lily her goddam Oscar,” said the actress. Gladstone indeed looks to be an Awards-season favorite this winter and may become the first-ever Native American nominee for Best Actress at the Academy Awards.
Is Jacobs’ take on “Killers Of The Flower Moon” warranted, or did she miss the point of Scorsese’s film entirely. It’s not as if Scorsese is unaware that he’s a White man telling a gruesome true story that isn’t really his to tell. The director’s cameo at the end of the film explicates that nuance. And while the film’s lengthy runtime and frank depiction of events could be considered exploitative, it also forces viewers to sit and ruminate about the evil depicted onscreen. Scorsese’s portrayal of the deaths is indeed horrific, but that’s because they really were; and his depiction of the Osage elsewhere in the film arguably does honor them beyond their tragic history.
“Killers Of The Flower Moon” will undoubtedly stoke more controversy as its theatrical run continues. Scorsese’s film made $23.3 million at the box office over the weekend; it will stream exclusively on Apple TV+ after it exits theaters. But is Jacobs’ take on the film correct or not? Expect dialogue on the movie to continue as it reaches more audiences.
