Devery Jacobs, known for her role in “Reservation Dogs,” has expressed her concerns about the portrayal of violence against indigenous people in Martin Scorsese’s new film, “Killers of the Flower Moon.” In a series of tweets, Jacobs described the movie as “painful, grueling, unrelenting, and unnecessarily graphic,” stating that watching the film was like “fucking hellfire.”
Jacobs, who is Kanien’keha:ka, shared her perspective as a Native person, stating, “Imagine the worst atrocities committed against your ancestors, then having to sit through a movie explicitly filled with them, with the only respite being 30-minute long scenes of murderous white guys talking about/planning the killings.”
The film, based on the book of the same name by David Grann, focuses on the Osage people of Oklahoma and the white settlers who targeted them for their wealth after the discovery of oil on their land. Jacobs praised Lily Gladstone’s portrayal of Mollie Burkhart, an Osage woman, but criticized the underwritten nature of the Osage characters compared to the depth given to white men in the film.
Jacobs argued that the depiction of violence against Native women on screen normalizes the violence committed against Indigenous people and dehumanizes them further. She called for more representation of Native people beyond their grief, trauma, and atrocities, highlighting the richness of Native cultures, languages, joy, love, and pride.
While recognizing the cathartic experience for the Osage people involved in making the film, Jacobs suggested that an Osage filmmaker should have been given the opportunity to tell their own story, rather than someone like Scorsese.
In conclusion, Jacobs questioned whether “Killers of the Flower Moon” is the representation Indigenous communities needed after a century of problematic portrayals in film. The film premiered on October 20 after screening at Cannes in May 2023 and debuted with $23 million at the box office over the weekend.