5 money lessons to learn from Martin Scorsese’s ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’

Leonardo Di Caprio optioned David Grann’s book Killers of the Flower Moon and shared it with Martin Scorsese. And the rest, as they say, is history. This epic three and a half hour movie has just been released in theatres (last week in the US and this Friday in India) and before you know it you will all be watching this jaw-dropping masterpiece that brings back the Scorsese magic.

The complete title of the book is ‘Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders And the Birth Of The FBI’. The romance of the phrase Flower Moon coupled with words like ‘Murders’ as well as ‘FBI’ meant I had to click on the bookselling app online and buy the book. Some might say that the subject has little relevance to us in India and that only die-hard fans of the filmmaker will enjoy the film, but all you have to do is open your eyes to the political scenario in our country and find unbelievable parallels.

This story is about ‘white’ settlers who pushed the Osage tribe of Native Americans (who lived in the fertile Kansas) to the barren lands of Oklahoma. Fortunately for the Osage, Oklahoma had one of the largest oil deposits and they struck black gold. Simple tribesmen (2,229 of the original people) suddenly became the richest people in the world. Their oil wealth attracted all kinds of crooks and swindlers to their home in Fairfax. One ‘white’ friend of the Osage – cattle rancher William Hale (played brilliantly by Robert De Niro) – with the help of his nephews had spun a web of evil that involved systematically killing the Osage for the property rights to their oil. His nephew Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo Di Caprio in what is perhaps the best role he has ever played) marries Mollie, a rich Osage woman (played by the luminous Lily Gladstone). Ernest is slowly poisoning the feisty Mollie and helping his uncle kill her sisters and her mother who are all independently wealthy…

But Mollie and the tribal council manage to reach Washington DC and request the American President to send help in order to investigate the murders of the Osage. A newly formed Bureau of Investigation sends Tom White (Jesse Plemons in a quiet, clever role) and a team of undercover agents to solve the murders. By following the money, Tom White solves the awful crime.

So many money lessons to learn from this beautiful film made by Martin Scorsese.

Lesson 1: When Martin Scorsese wants a particular look for his film Panavision obliges

Director Martin Scorsese and his cinematographer Dan Prieto wanted to show the vast landscapes of Oklahoma and even though movies like Oppenheimer have created the old world charm, this film was set in the early 20th century, so they needed lenses that could offer a special texture and colour. Panavision’s Sasaki modified the T series lenses to help create the authentic look of 1920s America. You just have to watch the stunning visuals on the screen to understand how incredible collaboration can be.

In your money life, you too will need collaboration: with your money manager, or a bank that helps you design your investment portfolio that can result in more money for you. I cannot resist reminding you by paraphrasing a Shah Rukh Khan film dialogue: Jab kisi cheez ko poori shiddat se chaho to sari kainaat use poora karne ki saazish karti hai.

Lesson 2: Sudden money can lead to all kinds of evil

The Osage were simple people when they suddenly struck black gold, that brought ‘civilization of the white man’ at their doorstep’. They became the richest people when the prospectors and oilmen came to lease the rights to their oil (today the value would be roughly more than $400 million). They also treated the Osage as if they were stupid and sub-human. Each of the Osage had to have a ‘White guardian’ who would control how the Osage men and women could spend their own money. Obviously, this was done for a fee, and mostly humiliating to the rich Osage women like Mollie. The men who married these oil-rich women did nothing but laze around the house, play games, and yes, produce babies to get a hold of that money.

The Osage men and women got a taste of the high life: they would spend their money on fur, jewels, cars, mansions and finally alcohol. In your money life too, when you make money, it’s okay to splurge a little, but not so much that you attract unwanted attention. Your money manager might be stern sometimes, but you should know they are working for you. If they treat you like you’re ‘incompetent’ (just as Mollie Burkart), then you need to change the manager and find someone who respects you.

Lesson 3: The Investigators follow the money to find insurance fraud

The team of undercover investigators who have come to Fairfax at the behest of Mollie Burkhart and is led by Tom White. They quietly observe the people by mingling with the folk as cowboys, representatives of firms and even visiting relatives, while Tom White tries to talk to everyone: from the King of the Hill William Hale, to the sheriff, the doctors (who have hacked a body of a dead Osage in the name of autopsy).

As the team meeting late at night sees a fire start at Hale’s cattle ranch, one team member says, ‘I just sold William Hale fire insurance!’ Others laugh at him because now he will have to process that claim.

In real life too, you cannot be William Hale who sets fire to his farm or kills an Osage man who is under his protection days after the insurance kicks in. But you have to be aware of the fine print on insurance that you sign up for. Whether it is health insurance or insuring your home, you must know everything that the plan covers and how much you will need to pay in case you fall ill and have to use insurance to pay your bills.

Lesson 4: Mollie trusted Ernest and he betrayed her…

Ernest confesses to William Hale that he fell in love with Mollie as soon as she stepped into his cab. Hale cannot hide his hatred for ‘that skin colour’ but puts ideas slowly into Ernest’s head: This oil money should be ours. Ernest is a simpleton and is easily swayed and agrees to rob and kill his uncle. He helps kill Mollie’s sister and brother-in-law by planting explosives in their home. He even begins to poison Mollie slowly by adding ‘something to slow her down’ that the doctors on William Hale’s payroll give him.

In real life, your relatives may not poison you, but there are several ways you could be betrayed. When you sign loan papers with a relative, or trust someone so much you sign away your stocks by giving them access to your demat account. Some even allow family members the power to register the home they have built and then get betrayed when their name does not appear as ‘owner’. Remedies are available but the process is long and painful and betrayal by family or friends is difficult to prove. So be smart, be aware.

Lesson 5: Us vs Them. William Hale hates the Osage deeply

‘This money should have been rightfully ours,’ William Hale insists. And along with him other wolves in Fairfax: the oilmen, the bankers, the sheriff, treat the Osage as if they were no better than animals. In fact, an elder of the tribe says, ‘The police will hear complaints about a dog being kicked and do nothing when an Osage is killed.’

In real life too, we have systems that are built for the haves and nor for the have nots. We must acknowledge the privilege that education affords us and not treat the people who work for us as if they are beneath us somehow. This is not a moral science lesson. Just saying that we will progress as a community if we help the people who work for us, manage their meagre monies better. Digital payments are easy if you know how, but tough if your minions are used to receiving payments in cash. It takes a few minutes to help them link the payment methods to their bank account. If they don’t have an account, you could help them with the process that seems daunting to them.

This film is visually stunning and intellectually incredible. Indian films like Newton treat this chasm between the haves and the have nots with the help of satire. But Killers of the Flower Moon is based on true events, and will shake you to the core.

Manisha Lakhe is a poet, film critic, traveller, founder of Caferati — an online writer’s forum, hosts Mumbai’s oldest open mic, and teaches advertising, films and communication. She can be reached on Twitter at @manishalakhe.