Lily eyes Oscar representation for indigenous actors with ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’

Los Angeles: Whether Lily Gladstone decides to campaign for lead actress or supporting actress (and there’s a case for either), a spot will be reserved for her in a lineup.

That’s because her powerfully complex role in Apple Original Films’ ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival on a rainy Saturday night, is too good to ignore, reports Variety.

Gladstone delivers an uncompromising portrayal as Mollie, an Indigenous woman whose family and tribal community are being murdered at the hands of a sinister group of white men, driven by their thirst for greed and power. She’s a magnificent force.

As per Variety, it became clear almost 10 minutes into Martin Scorsese’s epic adaptation of David Grann’s 2017 non-fiction book ‘Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI’ that the audience of attendees were witnessing the birth of a star.

The film tells the tragic true story of members of the Osage tribe, who are murdered under mysterious circumstances during the 1920s. The events spark a major investigation that gives birth to the FBI under the direction of J. Edgar Hoover.

At the centre is Gladstone’s Mollie, along with her husband Ernest (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) and his Uncle ‘King’ (played by Robert DeNiro).

Variety further states that when it comes to Gladstone, 36, the truth is she’s already demonstrated a remarkable range with an impressive body of work. Some of those include 2013’s ‘Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of Plain Indians’ and 2020’s ‘First Cow’.

In fact, I believe she should have already been the recipient of an Oscar statuette for supporting actress for her remarkable turn in Kelly Reichardt’s multi-narrative 2016 drama ‘Certain Women’.

Indigenous representation in the Academy (and Hollywood) has been virtually non-existent in the history of cinema. Assuming supporting actress is in the cards for her (that’s where pundits including Variety have been tracking her), she would be only the second Indigenous actress ever nominated in the category after Jocelyne LaGarde for 1966’s ‘Hawaii’. It’s well overdue.

–IANS