Posted in: Apple, Movies, Paramount Pictures | Tagged: apple original films, Killers of the Flower Moon, martin scorsese, Paramount Pictures

Killers of the Flower Moon 'Love' Story "Fascinated" Martin Scorsese

Killers of the Flower Moon director Martin Scorsese says the 'love story' between Earnest and Mollie "fascinated" him and drew him to this story.

To say that the relationship dynamics between Earnest [Leonardo DiCaprio] and Mollie [Lily Gladstone] in Killers of the Flower Moon would be an understatement. A lot is going on between the two of them, and the reasons why they are together, why they decide to stay together, and their various choices are the bulk of the film—or at least, most of why Earnest does all the things he does in the movie. Unfortunately, considering the subject matter, it doesn't let us understand as much about Mollie as it should. Incoming spoilers for real-life events, director Martin Scorsese explained to Total Film that the thing that really drew him to this story was the "love story" between Earnest and Mollie. However, as Osage language consult Christoper Cote explained the other day, what Earnest did to Mollie in the end was "beyond abuse." Scorsese, however, sees it differently.

"I became fascinated by it because of the love story between Leo [DiCaprio] and Lily's [Gladstone] characters, Ernest and Mollie," he explained. "I just thought that with all that's going on, these two people were so in love. And yet, do they really know each other? Especially in a relationship like that, with their marriage and their children, she trusts him so much. He loves her, but circumstances and a kind of special way of thinking, so to speak, which puts other people in inferior positions – this takes over. And are we all capable of that, really? It makes me think about that. If I was in that situation, what would I do? You know, I wonder. I hope not, but I like to raise those questions for all of us."

One of the things that makes Killers of the Flower Moon stumble is the awkward choice to try and make it seem like Earnest might love Mollie on some level. However, the man was complicit in helping murder Mollie's entire family and many others. He then knowingly spent a significant amount of time not only poisoning her but also gaslighting Mollie by insisting that the tainted medication he was giving her, the medication that he was tainting and administering, was taking a little longer to work. Perhaps there was a time when Earnest was in lust with Mollie, but the man says who he is right at the beginning of the film; "I love money." If there is a love story in Killers of the Flower Moon, it's Earnest and his uncle's love and obsession with money above everything else. As for Mollie, the film spends far too much of its very long runtime focused on Earnest, so the question of whether or not she loved him and how she felt is never addressed.

Killers of the Flower Moon: Summary, Cast List, Release Date

Based on David Grann's broadly lauded best-selling book, Killers of the Flower Moon is set in 1920s Oklahoma and depicts the serial murder of members of the oil-wealthy Osage Nation, a string of brutal crimes that came to be known as the Reign of Terror.

Directed by Martin Scorsese and Screenplay by Eric Roth and Scorsese, the film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, Tantoo Cardinal, Cara Jade Myers, JaNae Collins, and Jillian Dion.

Hailing from Apple Studios, Killers of the Flower Moon was produced alongside Imperative Entertainment, Sikelia Productions, and Appian Way. Producers are Scorsese, Dan Friedkin, Bradley Thomas, and Daniel Lupi, with DiCaprio, Rick Yorn, Adam Somner, Marianne Bower, Lisa Frechette, John Atwood, Shea Kammer, and Niels Juul serving as executive producers. It will be released in theaters on October 20th.

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