Reservation Dogs Star Calls Watching Killers Of The Flower Moon ‘F–Ing Hellfire’
Martin Scorsese’s long-awaited adaptation of “Killers of the Flower Moon” is finally out in theaters, adding another huge film to the director’s extensive filmography. “Huge” is putting it mildly, too, as the historical Western drama clocks in at just under three and a half hours. Honestly, it’s a “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” runtime for a movie that couldn’t be more different in content and genre. While the film has already earned significant praise from many mainstream critics and cinephiles, it’s also garnered some strong criticism.
Like the book of the same name by David Grann, “Killers of the Flower Moon” chronicles the vile murders of Osage Nation members after oil was found on Indigenous land in Oklahoma during the 1920s. The story is sickening and yet another instance of the violence committed against Indigenous peoples in the name of greed and colonial conquest. Although Scorsese’s film is clearly meant to condemn this murderous history, several Indigenous-Americans have taken issue with the angle and tone of his film.
One notable name who’s critiqued its format is “Reservation Dogs” star and ascending Hollywood writer-producer Devery Jacobs. A First Nations actor who grew up on Mohawk land, Jacobs took to X, formerly known as Twitter, after seeing “Killers of the Flower Moon” to share her thoughts. She critiqued the film extensively, calling it “f***ing hellfire” to watch as a Native viewer.
Devery Jacobs argues for better Indigenous representation
Melinda Sue Gordon/Apple TV+
Even though she had immense praise for Indigenous star Lily Gladstone’s performance and acknowledged the “compelling” production design of Scorsese’s $200 million film, Jacobs found issues with the movie’s narrative perspective. “If you look proportionally, each of the Osage characters felt painfully underwritten, while the white men were given way more courtesy and depth,” Jacobs wrote. “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.”
Scorsese and his team worked closely with Osage consultants while developing and shooting the film — though none of them were given screenwriting credit or a larger production role. “It’s a different movie than the one [Scorsese] walked in to make almost entirely because of what the community had to say,” Gladstone told Variety in January 2023. “The work is better when you let the world inform the work.” Still, all four of the film’s producers, both credited screenwriters, and the director are all white men. Author David Grann is also white.
“I can’t believe it needs to be said, but Indig ppl exist beyond our grief, trauma & atrocities,” Jacobs wrote on X. “Our pride for being Native, our languages, cultures, joy & love are way more interesting & humanizing than showing the horrors white men inflicted on us.”
