With ‘Killers Of The Flower Moon’ Martin Scorsese has once again delivered a fantastic film. It’s all about the Osage murders that happened in Oklahoma in the 1920s. Stars such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons and Brendan Fraser can be seen in front of the camera. At this point, we can only advise you to quickly check out the 206-minute epic in theaters before it soon becomes available only with an AppleTV+ subscription.
About 90 minutes into “Killers Of The Flower Moon” there is a scene that is so absurd that it should actually be amusing. Actually. Here we witness William Hale (De Niro) punishing his cousin Ernest (DiCaprio) for initially botching the plan to rob the Osage of their wealth. Hale snaps at this Paddling and hits Ernest on the butt with it. So strong that the wooden punishment instrument eventually even breaks.
This is how Leonardo DiCaprio prepared for the scene
Rodrigo Prieto, cinematographer for “Killers Of The Flower Moon”, spoke in an interview with about how Leonardo DiCaprio prepared for the scene in which he is punished quite brutally with a paddle – and not surprisingly with a butt pad that you simply put in your pants. Prieto himself still remembers the moment he shot the scene:
“I remember we shot it a few times and thought, ‘Oh, that must have hurt.’ I don’t think that scene was in the first draft of the script. It was added and is quite shocking in the movie. DiCaprio’s ass was stuffed. But you could tell De Niro really got him. Leo is so excited. He would do anything.”
Even though, as I said, the scene seems somewhat absurd, Martin Scorsese manages to surprise the audience. Not only is it a moment of violence, but it is also accompanied by a rigorous level of humiliation. The laughter, if there is any, gets stuck in your throat during the spanking sequence – once again underscoring the directorial mastery of Scorsese, who once again provided countless memorable moments in “Killers Of The Flower Moon”.