Pros: This film might deal with a seldom mentioned aspect of American History, one that I never learned about in either high school or college, despite being a history minor, which just proved how incomplete the history books are. Leonardo DiCaprio shines as Ernest Burkhart a World War I vet who goes out of Oklahoma and unwillingly gets intertwined in his uncle's (Robert De Niro's) diabolical and pure evil plan. They live on Native American (referred to a the old-fashioned term Indian throughout the film) land and struck it rich when oil was discovered. While Ernest meets Mollie (Lily Gladstone) on his own, he marries her and then plots to have her sisters killed so all the money will go to him and his children. DiCaprio is a marvel, showing vast range and Gladstone is a revelation. The film might be overstuffed and long but it should be required viewing for high schoolers. The film is top-notch from top to bottom and shows an incredible attention to detail with flawless editing, cinematography, set decoration and score.
Cons: While the intro is brilliant, what I don't understand is why Mollie had to run by her expenses by an attorney and yes, there are too many characters, especially white men but these are only small problems in an overall brilliant film.
Recommend: Yes
Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-The supporting cast is solid and includes Jesse Plemons and then in near cameo roles Brendan Fraser, Tantoo Cardinal and John Lithgow.
-While Ernest claims that he loves his wife and I certainly think that he does, if he really loved her, he wouldn't poison her with tainted insulin or have her sisters murdered.
-When Ernest hears of his youngest daughter's death, he does breakdown, proving that he has a heart, buried underneath all that greed.
-While this book is supposed also describe the birth of the FBI, that isn't really detailed in the film though it appears that they are first group to finally succeed in getting to the bottom of what was going on as others tried and failed, due to intervention from Bill Hale (De Niro).
-Mollie does eventually divorce Ernest and remarries but still dies young due to her diabetes.
-This cast also includes two singers: Jason Isbell and Sturgill Simpson in prominent roles.
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