Stephanie Harris

I watched this cold, so to speak, with no idea of the film's subject, but the star cast obviously being a huge draw. At over 3 hours it's an epic watch, absolutely overwhelming actually, with its perfection and ruthless attention to details and history. I love films where you can actually learn something, and get lost in, and this is gobsmacking. It's gorgeous on one hand, with the scenery, and the developing love story, but be warned, this is the kind of history retelling that leaves you reeling. Scorcese obviously felt that these grim events deserved to be seen and heard and felt by us, the audience, and as such, he doesn't leave anything out. It's a type of plea, to please hear the voices of the lost people, whose sufferings we are to witness. It's a high impact film, the sound effects are really alarming, all the explosives etc are terrifying and emotionally charged. This is a massive question mark of a film, that's really asking how did this happen ?? No really !!! HOWw did this happen ....!!!? it's asking about love, and evil, and about the capability of us to love but also to destroy, about lies, and about cold, cold brutality in extreme, isolated, and uncivilised areas where there's not a soul in sight. It's also about the truth, as well, shameful and frightening as it is, as this appalling episode in American history is based on real events, in a time where stuff happened and there was no way of bending it or shaping it up or whatever, let alone "raising awareness..". Even the FBI looked pretty curveballed at the levels of indifferent and calculated violence that they were investigating. (Point of hope; the FBI weren't the bad guys here 😂) Thus the communications were totally isolated, no witnesses and people's collusion was just that, collusion. To say it's about racism is a complete understatement and simplification of a complex kind of denial of cultural violence. It's more about not allowing a nasty and unpalatable happening truth to be forgotten and therefore denied, in a way. Masterfully shot, bravely strolling into territory that could be seen as difficult, risky, tragic, and unpopular, pulling out all the considerable stops to portray pure greed at its absolute blackest form, this is Scorcese scorching us with a truth . Not for the faint hearted, but an education, an experience, and a triumph, to say the very least. Despite the subject, it still manages to retain a classy edge of glossy perfection. The continuity is so seamless the film flows forwards like a river, pulling you with it. Goes without saying the actings everything you'd hoped for as well. 😪 Bravo X