Martin Scorsese explains why Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) drinks some of Mollie's (Lily Gladstone) poison in Killers of the Flower Moon.
Summary SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT Killers of the Flower Moon director Martin Scorsese breaks down the scene in which Ernest Burkhart drinks some of Mollie Burkhart's poison. Scorsese's crime drama tells the true story of the Osage Nation in the 1920s, during which the community faced a string of suspicious murders after becoming wealthy from discovering oil on their land.
In an interview with IndieWire, Scorsese explained what was going through Ernest's mind while poisoning his wife in Killers of the Flower Moon. Despite being persuaded by his uncle, Robert De Niro's William King Hale, to slowly poison Molly with her insulin, Scorsese acknowledged the ambiguity of whether DiCaprio's character was aware of his actions, feeling that if he was, it was only "subliminally," thus leading to him taking a sip of the poisoned milk himself.
Scorsese: De Niro’s character Hale does a mop-up operation, he kills off, silences all his associates. And then, as it’s all circling, and circling and circling onto Ernest, Ernest feels his uncle wouldn’t do that to him or Mollie. He thinks his uncle is going to take it to a point where Mollie would be OK. He’ll be OK.Scorsese: No, he doesn’t. Yes, he does, subliminally. But he refuses to accept it. That’s why he takes that sip himself. You know, he refuses to accept.
Ernest would later testify in court and admit to playing a significant role in the murders of Mollie's family, which earned him a life sentence in prison, though he would later be released on parole. While Grann and Killers of the Flower Moon insinuate that Ernest actually did have some real affection for Mollie, his actions make it clear that he did not actually love her.
However, the question remains whether Ernest went as far as to poison Mollie in real life. After authorities started investigating the case, Mollie was discovered gravely ill and had been poisoned, most likely through her insulin injections. Grann, though, stated in his book that it couldn't be proved who had poisoned her, and it was one crime that Burkhart did not admit, just as he refused to admit it in the movie.
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