New film by Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon marks a turning point in the career of its lead actress Lily Gladstone. However, the actress almost missed the role of her life.
This is the revelation of Killers of the Flower Moon: Lily Gladstone is the main actress in the new film by Martin Scorsese. A must-see event of the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, this 3h26 western is finally visible in cinemas.
Looking back at a dark part of American history – the series of murders of members of the native Osage Indian tribe in Osage County, Oklahoma in the 1920s – and based on the work of the same name by David Grann, published in 2017, Killers of the Flower Moon brings together an exceptional cast.
The 80-year-old filmmaker reunites with two of his favorite actors – Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio – whom he unites with Jesse Plemons, Brendan Fraser, John Lithgow, Tantoo Cardinal, Pat Healy, Scott Shepherd, Sturgill Simpson, Gary Basaraba and Steve Eastin .
But it is the actress Lily Gladstone who stands out in this film where the members of the Osage tribe will fight for justice to be done and for the FBI to lead the investigation into the horrible murders perpetuated on their rich lands of oil.
Lily Gladstone’s performance was praised by critics, right from the film’s preview presentation at the Cannes Film Festival. Which suggests to her a bright future and a turning point in her career, like Margot Robbie before her, who also exploded thanks to Martin Scorsese and his film The Wolf of Wall Street.
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Lily Gladstone almost didn’t star in the new Scorsese
In Killers of the Flower Moon, Lily Gladstone plays Molly Burkhart, a Native American from the Osage community, who will fight for her tribe, the victim of a series of despicable murders. And this role could well earn her an Oscar nomination given that Paramount and Apple have decided to nominate Lily Gladstone as Best Actress at the next ceremony.
If the actress is well selected, it would be a historic nomination. Born in Browning, Montana, Lily Gladstone has indigenous origins, including the Nimíipuu and Pikunis tribes, and lived on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. She would then be the first Native American actress nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress.
However, the actress almost missed out on the role of her life. First, because of the rewriting of the film’s script, as Lily Gladstone confided to Kelly Reichardt, who had directed her in Certain Women and First Cow, during a mixed interview in Interview magazine (made before the SAG-AFTRA strike).
The storyline of Killers of the Flower Moon changed so much that the scene given to Lily Gladstone for her audition was reduced considerably: “Before the rewrites, I had three pages of fairly wordy dialogue. But I was having so much trouble with the scenes that when COVID shut everything down and the project went on hold, I assumed I would missed the audition. About a year later, I got a request to Zoom with Martin Scorsese.”.
And it was this request that changed everything. In an interview given to The Hollywood Reporterthe actress explained that she considered leaving acting in 2020 – during the pandemic – to apply for seasonal work with the Department of Agriculture tracking murder hornets that were wreaking havoc across the country in the time :
“You do some soul searching and wonder if being an actress is really a sustainable business. So I took out my credit card and signed up for a data analytics course.”
Apple/Paramount Lily Gladstone and Martin Scorsese
But as she was about to enter her credit card code, she received an email notification from Martin Scorsese’s team for a request to participate in a Zoom meeting. The director had spotted her in Kelly Reichardt’s films and he really wanted to offer her the role of Molly, Ernest’s (Leonardo DiCaprio) wife in Killers of the Flower Moon.
A happy coincidence which therefore prevented Lily Gladstone from ending her career and getting the role of her life, which should guarantee her a nomination at the next Oscar ceremony. And the actress worked hard to shape this character and to honor the Osage community in Killers of the Flower Moon.
The rewriting of the script – which shifted the main point of view to the Osage community uprising rather than the FBI, in order to avoid the film’s pitfall of white savior (the figure of the “white savior”) – made it possible to put at the center the character of Molly, her relationship with Ernest, her position as “matriarch” and heroine for the Osage community.
Apple TV+
During the filming of Killers of the Flower Moon, which lasted six months, Lily Gladstone gave herself body and soul for her role, for which she notably lost a dozen kilos. The actress was like a guide or compass for the entire team, including Martin Scorsese, as Leonardo DiCaprio explained in an interview for Vogue : “Lily is absolutely stunning in this film. […] It carries the whole film and the story”.
The actor returned to this conversation on Zoom that changed everything: “Marty knew instinctively that Lily was the one. […] I have never seen him meet someone and immediately afterward not want to wait another minute.”
In addition to her truthful performance, Lily Gladstone was an authentic source of knowledge for Martin Scorsese, who himself asked her for feedback and comments on the script and welcomed the voices of the Osage community.
“It was clear that I did not just have a role as a collaborator. I was expected to get involved and put a lot of things on the table”she explained to Vulture. “That’s what being fair is: not only opening the door to those affected but also making them sit at the decision-making table.”
With this important role in Killers of the Flower Moon, Lily Gladstone has given her career a boost and she knows that her life will never be the same. It’s up to you to form your own opinion on the performance of the actress, who we will hear about for a long time.
The film Killers of the Flower Moon is currently in theaters.