clairelouise5

Scorcese knocks it out of the park with Killers of the Flower Moon. This is a non-woke, non box-ticking, unapologetic, true account of a gripping true crime story dating back to the early 1900s. I had seen the film advertised which made me finally get round to picking up the book. It's an unbelievable story- wealthy Indians getting murdered one by one, sparking terror in the community. The film was true to the book, down to the finest detail which made me realize how remarkable Scorcese's work really is. Leonardo DiCaprio was excellent as Ernest and even looked just like the pictures of the real life Ernest in the book. I found his face took on the same qualities. Robert DeNiro as Hale, the wealthy uncle and friend to the Indians was just as brilliant. They both emobodied the roles and offered complex and interesting performances. The actress who played Mollie also looked similar to the real pictures in the book and her acting was so soulful and sparing. I found the movie to be art, with all the painstaking attention to detail in bringing this story to life. I have lately got into watching the old westerns and classic cowboy films and this film possessed similar tones: classic, true, unapologetic. They really don't make them like this anymore. This is a Scorcese film so it is long but also worthy of your time. I felt if I hadn't read the book or was familiar with the story, some of it might have got lost on me which would have been a shame. However, because of reading the book, I already knew the context of the film so it might have been interesting going into it blind.

This is the first film in a while that I thought was excellent. An explosive tabloid grabbing headline; a woman and a 13 year old boy. This is the aftermath, years later and I thought it was such an interesting topic to explore. All the actors were outstanding and played such textured and interesting characters. I found I couldn't take my eyes off of Natalie Portman. It was very artistic and I really enjoyed exploring the murky depths of this 'love story' while also being seduced by the cinematography. You hear stories like this and wonder: how could you? I personally enjoyed this film and found it intriguing and original.

The Dark and The Wicked a is one of my favourite horrors. It is excellent in every sense of the word. This is a story about two grown siblings returning to a remote farmhouse to help their mother tend to their ailing father. Sounds like a familiar trope, sure. But something is different here.

It felt grim and gritty. The siblings were downcast and the atmosphere heavy. The horror begins as a slow burn, and I was comfortably able to weather the scary bits... for a while. The story really becomes it's own and the horror- subtle, realistic, twisted, and terrifying.

I jumped out of my skin a few times but it was the originality and the building sense of dread that got me.

When I started the film I thought it seemed pretty good but didn't know it would get me like it did.