Last night, I watched The Killers of the Flower Moon, a movie revolving around the Osage murders in 1920s Oklahoma. The film showcased an accurate depiction of the Osage nation, as the Osage people collaborated with Martin Scorcese on its production. Overall, it was carefully produced and is easily the most significant release of the year. However, my one complaint about the movie has to be its length. The Killers Of The Flower Moon totaled 3 hours and 26 minutes. Though I was captivated by the first two hours, the drowsiness that comes with staring at a screen for that long abruptly set in. As a result, the rest of the movie seemed dragged out. I’ve now realized this seems to be a pattern amongst films recently. They’re long, sometimes excruciatingly so, and often leave the audience tired and confused. Therefore it raises the question, are movies getting too long?
Over the summer, the 3-hour movie- Oppenheimer came out. The movie produced a handful of mixed reviews. Many viewers were left complaining about the movie’s length and complexity. Those who enjoyed the film seem to rebuttal this with “You watched it wrong” or “You need to watch it again to understand.” However, is this sentiment not ridiculous? If your movie takes a rewatch to be fully understood, can one honestly deem it a masterpiece? After all, when making a movie for the general public, one must account for their audience. Most of society has an attention span shorter than one minute, so it’s clearly not a good idea to make a 3-hour movie. To me, this comes off more as self-indulgent work than anything else. A trend with these movies is that they’re often the self-proclaimed “magnum-opus” of a director’s career, which drives the point home that they don’t care for the audience but rather only for the awards and praise they’ll receive. This problem isn’t only seen in Oppenheimer– but in most lengthy films.
An intermission is an easy solution to the daze many of these movies generate. Many countries like Egypt, Switzerland, and Iceland have 15-minute interludes. So, why aren’t more countries implementing this? Streaming services are slowly killing movie theaters, and if they implemented the changes the audience desires, they would likely generate more success. An intermission would also give time for the audience to simply sit and think about what has occurred and theorize what may follow.
The Killers of the Flower Moon, a movie 3 hours and 30 minutes long, was supposed to be much longer before its director cut it down immensely. This only makes one consider if these lengthy movies should be TV shows. Rather than cramming content into a movie format, portion it into a mini-series. One could argue this enhances the problem by making the content longer, but a key difference is that you now have the luxury of a pause button. You can go to the bathroom without missing any crucial scenes and can stop at your mind’s ease if you feel overwhelmed with information. This would also allow for a more easily digestible plot that feels organic instead of rushed.
I’m sure most English teachers have told their students they value quality over quantity, and this is a sentiment shared by audiences. A long runtime doesn’t make a movie good; instead, it often sullies reviews. Directors must prioritize their audience’s wishes over what they want bragging rights for.
