Everywhere they go, they create a riot. On the red carpet Saturday night for the presentation of "Killers of the Flower Moon," director Martin Scorsese, actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Lily Gladstone, and Standing Bear, chief of the Osage tribe, provoked an impressive popular gathering at the foot of the steps of the Palace. And to see the film in press screening, you had to wait an hour in a long queue that stretched in the rain. Ditto this Sunday, May 21, where journalists jostled to try to participate in their press conference.
Highly anticipated, after a rather disappointing "The Irishman" in 2019, the new feature film of "Marty" Scorsese did not disappoint: it turns out to be grandiose. The filmmaker tells us a tragic story: how manipulative and bloodthirsty whites murdered women of the Osage tribe, the only rich Indians in the country, at the beginning of the twentieth century, because, on their land, oil had gushed.
DiCaprio plays Ernest, a young worker a little idiot who will work, at the request of his powerful uncle William (De Niro) so that the daughters of an Osage family are murdered one after the other so that the relatives of the uncle, married to these unfortunate women, inherit their lands so fertile in black gold. But Ernest himself has married Mollie (Lily Gladstone), a "native" with whom he is very much in love, but whom he will make seriously ill to satisfy his evil uncle ...
"Marty never betrayed our trust with this film... »
This astonishing and real story, which points to how whites participated in the massacre of natives, Scorsese tells us in his own way, in the form of a thriller of 3h17: breathtaking images, astonishing shots, infernal rhythm. Total, grandiose cinema! And, as always, he takes care of his direction of actors that he takes very far in their compositions, offering in passing to "Leo" one of his most beautiful roles, which he holds from start to finish.
Lily Gladstone, Leonarda DiCaprio, Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro as they arrive at the "Killers of the Flower Moon" press conference in Cannes on Sunday. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard
Hence the frenzy at the press conference: the international media wanted to know more... And see up close this legendary poster lined up behind the microphones, Scorsese in a pale salmon suit, DiCaprio and De Niro in dark suits, Lily Gladstone in a black dress with Osage accessories (she is from the tribe), and Chief Standing Bear, all dressed in blue. A moment undoubtedly intense for the latter, because of the Osage and the destruction of the Indian tribes, there was much talk.
Martin Scorsese explained that he had done it several times to write his script: "I had gone in a certain direction, and Leo came to me to tell me that he did not understand what the heart of the story was. I then went back to the Osage, who welcomed me with their rituals and explained their tragedy, which can be summarized as follows: that of a trust — which they had placed in the whites — that was betrayed. "That's how he finalized the story," says Chief Standing Bear, "which was fundamental to us. Then Marty never betrayed our trust with this film... »
"Look what happened with Trump!"
Robert De Niro's vision of this subject so important to the team is worth its weight in crude oil: "The betrayal that my character commits, it can probably be explained by an ordinary racism that still prevails today. It made me think of what George Floyd (who died in 2020 in Minneapolis and became the symbol of racist police violence in the United States) was a victim of. It is the banality of evil, it is scary, we must be wary of it. Especially since it comes from characters that can inspire confidence. Look at what happened with Trump! So many people had sincerely believed that he could do a good job! »
The actors were also able to express their relationship to the 7th Art, and all expressed their admiration for their director. In this regard, it was Leonardo DiCaprio who concluded this meeting with the press in a beautiful way: "I grew up watching Marty and Bob's films. It influenced me, as I was fascinated by the level to which they brought cinema, directing and acting. Martin Scorsese is a master, who has been influenced by the filmmakers of his past while developing his singularity as a director... A vibrant and highly applauded tribute, before everyone crosses the Palace again to the cheers of festival-goers...