WARWICK SHOWCASE

KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
* * * * ½
(Historical Western)

Don’t be late for this great three-and-a--half-hour historical western, based on David Grann’s non-fiction book. Warwick Showcase forgoes the 15 minutes of trailers, shows a short intro by Martin Scorsese, and gets right into the movie. Before you know it, three and a half hours have flown by.

The Osage Indian tribe has settled in the Oklahoma territory, only to discover oil on their land.

Cattle rancher William Hale (Robert De Niro) befriends the Osage people and becomes their benefactor. Little do they know that he is secretly plotting to gain their fortunes.

Hale’s nephew, Ernest Burkhart, (Leonardo DiCaprio) arrives in town and is hired as a taxi driver, spending most of his time driving Osage tribal member Mollie Brown (Lily Gladstone) around the fast growing town of Fairfax.

Mollie and her two sisters are in line to become  very wealthy Indians (as referred to in the film).

Hale convinces his nephew to take a liking to Mollie, which he does. They eventually marry and have children. The Osage tribe becomes wealthy from the oil and Mollie and Ernest lead a very comfortable life.

People start dying, and Hale is behind a plot to steal the wealth from the Osage
people, pulling his nephew into the murders.

The FBI comes to town to investigate.  Greedy, but somewhat naïve Ernest finds himself in the middle.

He loves Mollie deeply, but he also loves money and the things it can provide.

Burkhart makes for an interesting character study, as his greed influences his actions.

Gladstone is terrific as the smarter one in the marriage. Suffering from diabetes, she is one of the first in the country to take insulin, the new wonder drug.

Justice is served as the FBI comes to Fairfax and gathers enough evidence to convict Hale.

The movie ends with a clever Where are they now? final scene.

Scorsese uses a number of awesome overhead shots contrasted to closeups of authentic Osage Indians who play themselves with pride and dignity.

NETFLIX

THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER
* * * *

This terrific 8-part series is about a brother and sister who sell their souls to become wealthy leaders in the pharmaceutical industry.

Bruce Greenwood plays Roderick Usher, a greedy, powerful man who sees his grown children eliminated as their company develops a drug that eliminates pain, but causes much pain to his family along the way.

The story centers around Edgar Allen Poe’s works, with many references to his titles, quotes, and plots, making for a fascinating plotline.