Martin Scorsese reunites with longtime muses Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro in the first trailer for ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’, the upcoming Western epic based on David Grann’s 2017 best-selling non-fiction book ‘Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI’, reports ‘Variety’.
Set in 1920s Oklahoma, the drama focuses on a series of Osage Nation murders over oil rights and the newly-formed FBI’s investigation into the killings. The supporting cast includes Jesse Plemons, last seen in the much-applauded ‘The Power of the Dog’, and ‘Certain Women’ breakout Lily Gladstone, ‘Variety’ adds.
For DiCaprio and De Niro, ‘Flower Moon’ marks the first time the Oscar winners have worked together in a feature since Michael Caton-Jones’ 1993 drama ‘This Boy’s Life’.
Both actors, according to ‘Variety’, played fictionalised versions of themselves in Scorsese’s short film ‘The Audition’.
De Niro earned Oscar nominations for best actor by starring in Scorsese’s ‘Taxi Driver’, ‘Cape Fear’ and ‘Raging Bull’, taking home the statuette for the latter. DiCaprio was Oscar-nominated for Scorsese’s ‘The Aviator’ and ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’. ‘Flower Moon’ will mark the first time all three have worked together on a feature, ‘Variety’ notes.
DiCaprio stars in ‘Flower Moon’ as Ernest Burkhart, nephew of a powerful local rancher (De Niro) who becomes intertwined in the Osage Nation murders. Burkhart is married to an Indigenous woman, played by Gladstone. Plemons stars as Tom White, the lead FBI agent investigating the murders, says ‘Variety’.
‘Flower Moon’ was originally conceived for DiCaprio to play the FBI agent, but the actor reconfigured the script after deciding to switch roles to the more morally ambiguous Ernest.
