Why Ernest drinks Mollie’s poison in Killers Of The Flower Moon, explained by Scorsese

Flower Moon Killer Director Martin Scorsese analyzes the scene in which Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) drinks some of Mollie Burkhart’s (Lily Gladstone) poison. Scorsese’s crime drama tells the true story of the Osage Nation in the 1920s, when the community suffered a series of suspicious murders after becoming wealthy through the discovery of oil on their land. It was discovered that several white men were conspiring to kill the Osage and steal their oil rights. The conspirators included Ernest, who murdered and even poisoned his wife Mollie’s family over a long period of time.

In an interview with IndieWireScorsese explained what was going through Ernest’s mind when he poisoned his wife Flower Moon Killer. Although he was persuaded by his uncle, William King Hale (Robert De Niro), to slowly poison Molly with his insulin, Scorsese acknowledged the ambiguity over whether DiCaprio’s character was aware of his actions, saying that if he was aware of it, if it was just “subliminal‘, causing him to take a sip of the poisoned milk. See Scorsese’s quote below:

Scorsese: De Niro’s character Hale conducts a purge where he kills and silences all his employees. And so, even though it’s all about Ernest, Ernest feels like his uncle wouldn’t do something like that to him or Mollie. He believes that his uncle will get him to the point where Mollie will get better again. Everything will be fine.

Interviewer: Don’t you realize you’re killing Mollie?

Scorsese: No, that’s not the case. Yes, it’s true, subliminal. But he refuses to accept this. That’s why he takes that sip himself. You know, he refuses to accept it. You can see it on Leo’s face during the flames. He knows. But he still refuses to accept that he is part of it. It is the weakness of his character.

Interviewer: You are being misled.

Scorsese: Absolutely.

Did the real Ernest Burkhart really poison his wife?

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Although it is based on David Grann’s non-fiction book of the same name, Flower Moon Killer It changes some aspects of the story and raises questions about how much of the film is true. After all, it is difficult to understand how Ernest could betray the woman he claimed to love in such a terrible way. However, much of what the film tells about Ernest’s story is true, as he told it to his Uncle Hale, who planned the murders and even convinced Ernest to marry Mollie.

Ernest later testified in court and admitted to playing a role in the murder of Mollie’s family, which earned him a life sentence, although he was later released on parole. While grandma and Flower Moon Killer Although he suggests that Ernest felt genuine affection for Mollie, his actions make it clear that he did not truly love her. Scorsese’s interview about Ernest knowing to some extent what was going on puts more blame on him than on his uncle.

The question remains, however, whether Ernest actually poisoned Mollie in real life. After authorities began investigating the case, it was determined that Mollie was seriously ill and had likely been poisoned by the insulin injections. However, Grann stated in her book that it could not be proven who poisoned her and that it was a crime that Burkhart did not admit to, just as she did not want to admit in the film. Whether he did it or not, Flower Moon KillerThe poisoning scene highlights an interesting perspective on Ernest as a man who knew what he was doing but chose to deny it.

Source: IndieWire