(2023)

Submitted by Jeremy


In the early 20th century, the indigenous Osage nation were the wealthiest people in America. White men came into their land in Oklahoma to “guard” their wealth, but businessman William King Hale (Robert De Niro) employed a number of criminals to murder the Osage to seize control of their profits. Hale’s nephew Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) marries Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone) in an attempt to profit off of her wealth. Mollie’s three sisters – Anna, Minnie, and Rita – are all killed, along with Mollie’s first husband Henry, and a number of other wealthy Osage.

Mollie falls ill when Ernest begins putting a toxin in her insulin medication. Despite her health, Mollie travels to Washington DC to speak to President Calvin Coolidge and request that an investigation be made into the murders. The Bureau of Investigation sends Tom White (Jesse Plemons) to look into the murders. While Hale tries to cover his tracks, he and Ernest are found out and arrested. Ernest is coerced into not testifying against his uncle until his youngest child dies from a whooping cough, which breaks him and leads him to testify. Mollie leaves him after he continues to lie to her when she knows he was drugging her.

An epilogue told in the form of a radio show states that Hale was sentenced to life in prison but eventually let out on parole for good behavior. Mollie divorced Ernest and married another man before dying at the age of 50. While there was no real justice in the murders, the Osage nation continues to thrive today.

03 hours 26 minutes