Movies Update: ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ and more

Plus, "The Exorcist" at 50.

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story October 20, 2023 By Stephanie Goodman Film Editor Hi, film fans! For a certain kind of movie lover (like me), this weekend's release of "Killers of the Flower Moon" is one of the highlights of the year. Martin Scorsese's retelling of the terrible events known as the Reign of Terror — when members of the Osage nation were murdered by white men in the 1920s — is eliciting a range of reactions. In her review, The Times critic Manohla Dargis calls it "a heartbreaking masterpiece," explaining that it's "a true-crime epic that Scorsese — with grace, sorrow and sublime filmmaking clarity — has turned into a requiem for the country." Other reviewers have also praised "Killers" but lamented the pacing of the three-and-a-half-hour film or questioned its outsider point of view. That viewpoint also became an issue at the Los Angeles premiere of "Killers" when a consultant on the movie, Christopher Cote, told The Hollywood Reporter that "as an Osage I really wanted this to be from the perspective of Mollie" — the Osage woman played by Lily Gladstone — "and what her family experienced. But I think it would take an Osage to do that." If you want to learn more about the film and the events it covers, there are some useful Times articles, including this guide to the history, a look at Osage wedding traditions (which inform a lengthy scene in the movie) and a 1926 report on the murders. "Killers of the Flower Moon" isn't the only movie our reviewers are recommending this week. Several documentaries, including "The Pigeon Tunnel," about John le Carré, get the coveted Critic's Pick designation. Whatever you decide to watch, enjoy the movies! Melinda Sue Gordon/Apple Original Films Critic's Pick 'Killers of the Flower Moon' Review: An Unsettling Masterpiece Martin Scorsese's three-and-a-half-hour epic, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, is a romance, a western, a whodunit and a lesson in the bloody history of the Osage murders of the 1920s. By Manohla Dargis UPI TV News/Associated Press 'The Exorcist' at 50: How One Horror Movie Shocked the World Could a movie about a girl possessed by the devil really have caused audience members to faint and lose their lunch at theaters? By Manohla Dargis, Jason Zinoman and Erik Piepenburg Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT CRITICS' PICKS Des Willie/Apple TV+ Critic's Pick 'The Pigeon Tunnel' Review: Thinker, Player, Searcher, Spy Two master performers, the filmmaker Errol Morris and the writer John le Carré, circle the truth in this mesmerizing biographical documentary. By Jeannette Catsoulis HBO Critic's Pick 'The Insurrectionist Next Door' Review: Getting Personal In her latest film, the documentarian Alexandra Pelosi has disarming chats with people who participated in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. By Nicolas Rapold Amazon Studios Critic's Pick 'Silver Dollar Road' Review: Black Land Loss Is Still Happening The 20th century saw a mass dispossession of Black farmers. This intimate documentary focuses on one family's recent battle to keep their home in North Carolina. By Nicolas Rapold Notice Pictures/National Film Board of Canada and Notice Pictures Inc. Critic's Pick 'To Kill a Tiger' Review: The Survivor Who Refused to Be Shamed In this unflinching documentary, a young girl in rural India and her father fight an entrenched village culture to seek justice for her brutal rape. By Devika Girish MOVIE REVIEWS Yiget Eken/Sony Pictures Classics 'The Persian Version' Review: A Bumpy Road Out of Iran An Iranian American woman navigates her family life and her personal life in this semi-autobiographical feature from Maryam Keshavarz. By Amy Nicholson Mubi 'The Delinquents' Review: Money for Nothing A bank worker asks a colleague to watch the cash he has stolen in this low-key Argentine feature from Rodrigo Moreno. By Ben Kenigsberg Michael Moriatis/Netflix 'Old Dads' Review: Bill Burr Rails Against Modern Life as a Dad A curmudgeon, starting fatherhood late, has lots to say about the world. By Glenn Kenny Freestyle Digital 'Waiting for the Light to Change' Review: Listless in a Lakeside Cabin In her feature debut, the director Linh Tran tries to capture the longing and inertia between adolescence and adulthood. By Natalia Winkelman Utopia/Willa 'Another Body' Review: A Cowardly New World This film, directed by Sophie Compton and Reuben Hamlyn, follows a woman as she attempts to find the person responsible for posting her face on a deepfake porn video. By Lisa Kennedy Michael C.B. Stevens/Saban Films 'Butcher's Crossing' Review: Perilous Country This western about the gluttony of westward expansion is saddled with a miscast Nicolas Cage. By Brandon Yu Netflix 'The Devil on Trial' Review: Whodunit? Satan? This documentary revisits a 1981 homicide that the defense tried to attribute to demonic possession. By Calum Marsh Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT NEWS & FEATURES Melinda Sue Gordon/Apple Original Films What to Know About 'Killers of the Flower Moon': A Guide to the Osage Murders Martin Scorsese's epic traces a real plot by white men to kill dozens of Native Americans who held oil rights in 1920s Oklahoma. Here is the back story. By Sarah Bahr George Etheredge for The New York Times A Cannes Winner Asks: What if the Powerful Woman Isn't Punished? The French director Justine Triet's movies explore the anxieties of women who work and play hard. Her latest, "Anatomy of a Fall," won the Palme d'Or. By Beatrice Loayza See Saw Films A Filmmaker's Fraught Specialty: Women at Work and the Men Who Scare Them Kitty Green's movies, "The Assistant" and now "The Royal Hotel," address gender dynamics in familiar, but menacing, environments. By Melena Ryzik Clockwise from top left: Dale Robinette/Newmarket Films; Kimberley French/Summit Entertainment; Melinda Sue Gordon/Warner Bros.; Kerry Hayes/Universal Pictures As Movie Theaters Embrace Swift, One Showcases Her Exes In addition to "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour," a Milwaukee theater is programming films that feature some of her starry boyfriends. By Matt Stevens Rob McEwan/Miramax Films Critic's Notebook 'Scary Movie 3' at 20: Still Kills The horror parody's threequel remains the smartest dumb movie of its era. By Mariella Rudi Yiget Eken/Sony Pictures Classics 'The Persian Version' Director Has Always Lived in the In-Between In her new film, Maryam Keshavarz finds both gravity and levity in the struggle to reconcile her Iranian heritage and her life in the United States. By Maya Salam STREAMING RECOMMENDATIONS Compass International Pictures 25 Classic Horror Movies to Stream From silent monsters to digital-age demons, these scary-movie cornerstones are available to scream — sorry, stream. By Erik Piepenburg Netflix Five International Movies to Stream Now This month's picks include a comedic Swedish slasher, a Tunisian noir, an Austenian take on the Indian wedding melodrama and more. By Devika Girish Amazon Studios/Magnolia Pictures The Best Movies on Amazon Prime Video Right Now New films, and classics, just keep coming, but you don't have to drill down to find the finest selections to stream. We'll do the heavy lifting. You press play. By Jason Bailey Jean-Louis Blondeau/Polaris The Best Movies and Shows on Hulu Right Now We've handpicked the finest movies and television shows currently streaming on Hulu in the United States. Take a look. By Jason Bailey Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT How are we doing? We'd love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to moviesupdate@nytimes.com. Like this email? Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up here. Continue reading the main story Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for Movies Update from The New York Times. To stop receiving Movies Update, unsubscribe. 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