Based on true events, a WWI soldier [DiCaprio] returns home to the state of Oklahoma during a time when an oil boom has struck the state on Federal Native American territory; more centered around the Osage Nation, where a large number of Indian families have retained the rights to the riches being pumped out of the ground. Lots of money is being tossed around and the soldiers uncle [De Niro] promises his solider nephew a job as a taxi driver. The soldier falls in love with a local Osage Indian woman [Gladstone], who becomes the heir to the family fortune after several coincidental, and orchestrated deaths by murder have left his wife as the last of the family line for future oil fortunes. Over twenty-five local Indian deaths finally raise concern through the Native American Indian Council who send representatives to Washington DC and demand that the United States President send the investigators, under the control of J. Edgar Hoover, who runs an organization that eventually becomes the FBI, to look into the mysterious murders that have eluded justice due to Oklahoma's inability - due to the lack of respecting the rights of Indians during that time - to enforce law on Indian territory.
THE GOOD - The details required to transform the Oklahoma territories into a dusty 1920's old town environment is just mind blowing. The location spotting, wardrobe and makeup for the era, including the Native American wardrobe are just spellbinding perfect for the film. The captured sound was perfect and crisp; captions were added when truly needed. Very little use of green screen or CGI was required for the film and the cinematography was epic, capturing the vast fields and beauty of the Oklahoma "home range" countryside. The lighting was spot on to capturing the dusty, sepia feel of the time captured from old video and photographs of the time.
THE BAD - There are a ton of scenes which could have been edited out to speed up the film. The over three hour run time just seemed too unnecessary and I feel like a lot of good performances by DiCaprio and De Niro suffered because of all of the red tape that was used to go from one scene to another. Flash back scenes are added at a point where they could have just been presented in order of the scene as required. There were no real secrets in this film that needed to be presented to the viewer.
POST MORTEM - This film has a lot of big names in it, but it's definitely not a film that I will want to see again for a long time. There are no moments where I was like, "Let's see that again!" or a scene that brings me to remembering just how much talent was in this film. I'm surprised that DeCaprio took the role of the villain in this film and I'm sure that no one will be surprised in seeing De Niro sitting in another court room, charged for the mischief his character partook in the lawless lands of Oklahoma. Be prepared to hit pause a lot when seeing this film.
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫[3.5 of 5 Stars]
