When I left my screening of Killers of the Flower Moon, there was one thought on my mind. I had never seen a performance quite like Lily Gladstone’s turn as Mollie. Sometimes we overemphasize the Most acting. This lends itself to prosthetics, biopics, and overly affected shouting. What Gladstone does in Killers of the Flower Moon is entirely different to this cliché. 

Mollie (Lily Gladstone) was a victim of tragedy. Gladstone captures this marginalization, while also representing a full woman. There is an unfortunate impression some have left this film with, that Mollie is only stone-faced and tragic. This is just not accurate to the performance that Gladstone captures. 

For example, Gladstone plays coy and flirty in the beginning of her romance with Ernest (Leonardo Dicaprio). Her first date with Ernest is all chuckling and knowing looks. She calls Ernest a coyote in a teasing tone, indicating she is fully aware of his hunger for her wealth. In-person, Lily Gladstone is witty and funny, and her work during this courtship phase allows them to use these subtleties. These scenes also allow the space for Gladstone to show the audience why Mollie was attracted to Ernest. 

Evil surrounds my heart. 

Gladstone can shift an entire scene with just her eyes. Gladstone plays emotions across the whole spectrum of human feeling with mere expression. Quiet anger at being labeled “impotent” by the white powers that control her finances. Illness without exaggeration, sweat-drenched in realism. Resignation after Ernest rants at her about taking her medicine despite her suspicions. You understand implicitly why Mollie wants this to work with Ernest, and that comes from Gladstone’s performance. When violent tragedy strikes, when the crack breaks in her and Gladstone screams, you feel it in your bones. 

Her eventual confronting of Ernest is not a shouting match as many other filmmakers and actors would turn to. Instead, it’s a quiet pleading; an inquiry that she hopes will result in the man she married confronting his sins. The choices Gladstone makes in this scene force DiCaprio to match her tone. The result is a moment of subtle performance for an actor of DiCaprio’s stature. 

Ultimately, Killers of the Flower Moon is about how white settlers’ corruption resulted in unspeakable violence against the Osage. This is a story about white greed. And yet, you cannot tell this story without speaking to the victims of this tragedy, the Osage. Who is the center of this story? If you listen to the filmmakers– Scorsese and DiCaprio (producer)– it is Mollie, representing the very real aftermath of the people left behind after the slow massacre. 

At this point in the Oscars race, there appear to be no frontrunners for Killers of the Flower Moon other than Gladstone. What would be a better way to honor the film than by honoring its main Native perspective, the film’s beating heart? Lily Gladstone would be the first Native North American actress to win Best Actress. They are a first time nominee, in tradition with last year’s Actor and Actress winners. Native people are the original storytellers. To correct Hollywood’s depiction of these storytellers is essential, and to honor an actor who is a part of Scorsese’s mosaic of history would be an inspired decision.

Killers of the Flower Moon is currently streaming on Apple TV+ and back in select theaters.
You can find our review of the film here.

Author’s Note: Lily uses she/they pronouns. When referring to Mollie, I use she/her. When referring to Lily, I alternate.