LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Devery Jacobs, an indigenous Canadian actor, has slammed Martin Scorsese's 'Killers of the Flower Moon', saying it was a "painful" movie experience.
The 'Reservation Dogs' star shared her opinion about the movie on X, starting her long thread with the words, "I HAVE THOUGHTS. I HAVE STRONG FEELINGS. This film was painful, grueling, unrelenting, and unnecessarily graphic."
What did Devery Jacobs say about 'Killers of the Flower Moon'
Jacobs lists what went wrong with the movie in a 15-post thread.
For Jacobs, a native American, watching the movie was "hellfire."
She also shared how difficult it was to sit through a film containing explicit scenes of atrocities white men did toward her ancestors.
"I can't believe it needs to be said, but Indig ppl exist beyond our grief, trauma & atrocities. Our pride for being Native, our languages, cultures, joy & love are way more interesting & humanizing than showing the horrors white men inflicted on us," she continued in the thread.
She felt despite strong performances from the cast, "the Osage characters felt painfully underwritten, while the white men were given way more courtesy and depth."
She also praised Gladstone's performance as Mollie Burkhart. Jacobs said to give Gladstone an Oscar because she is "an absolute legend & carried Mollie w/ tremendous grace."
"All the incredible Indigenous actors were the only redeeming factors of this film."
Jacobs slammed the way Scorsese portrayed violence in the film and failed to give the Osage people the "honor and dignity" they deserved.
"Now, I can understand that Martin Scorsese's technical direction is compelling & seeing $200mil on screen is a sight to behold. I get the goal of this violence is to add brutal shock value that forces people to understand the real horrors that happened to this community, BUT—"
"I don't feel that these very real people were shown honor or dignity in the horrific portrayal of their deaths. Contrarily, I believe that by showing more murdered Native women on screen, it normalizes the violence committed against us and further dehumanizes our people," she continued.
"This is the issue when non-Native directors are given the liberty to tell our stories; they center the white perspective and focus on Native people's pain."
Jacobs also criticized the people celebrating the movie and concluded by asking whether this is the kind of representation the indigenous people need after all these years.
What is 'Killers of the Flower Moon' about?
Scorsese's 'Killers of the Flower Moon,' adapted from David Grann's book of the same name, was released in theatres on October 20.
Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and Lily Gladstone play the lead roles.
The Western crime epic, made with a budget of $200 million, first premiered at the 76th Cannes Films Festival in May.
Based on a true story, the movie portrays the murders of Osage Native Americans in Oklahoma in the 1920s after the discovery of oil in the region.
Internet supports Devery Jacobs' views
Replies to Jacobs' post and the tweet threads showed many others had similar experiences while watching the movie. Users shared their views and opinions about how the film portrayed the Native Americans.
One user said, "I agree. I would like to see a movie that centers the Osage community's perspective on what they called "the reign of terror." I believe they said there were hundreds of Osage that were either killed or died under suspicious circumstances. I want to know THEIR stories."
Another user agreed with Jacobs' views and commented, "It offered virtually no insight into the Osage language, culture, joy, or love - except for some prosaic conversations, brief passages from a book, attenuated ceremonies, surreal owls, and powwows tossed in to remind us that the indigenous are different than the dominant culture."
"It was still very white savorish with less screen time for the Osage. Same trope, as always. Cultural representation is the bare minimum," said a third user.
A fourth user said, "Thanks for writing this and sharing This encapsulates my thoughts and feelings Been feeling isolated with these emotions among all the loud praise and pushes for everyone to watch the film."
"Yep thought similar. Lily saved this film but it felt like Indigploitation," opined another user.
A devastated user said, "I had to walk out. It was too painful, my spirit was screaming to leave. The outright hate."
Another user with similar feelings stated, "you nailed everything I have been feeling. I am saving myself the trauma and not seeing it...and I am tired of feeling guilty for it."
