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This article's content is marked as Mature The page contains mature content that may include coarse language, sexual references, and/or graphic violent images which may be disturbing to some. Mature pages are recommended for those who are 18 years of age and older. If you are 18 years or older or are comfortable with graphic material, you are free to view this page. Otherwise, you should close this page and view another page. |
| “ | Ernest, handsome son. What do you think is gonna happen to Mollie and all of them? I love them, but in the turning of the Earth... they're gonna go. Their time is over. That's it! Gone! Ernest, there will be no lightning strike and it stops happening; it will happen! | „ |
| ~ William Hale assuring his nephew Ernest Burkhart that the Osage will be wiped out. |
| “ | There might be a public outcry for a while, but then you know what happens? People forget. They don't remember, they don't care. They just don't care. It's just gonna be another everyday common tragedy. | „ |
| ~ William Hale brushing off his crimes. |
William King Hale is the main antagonist of the 2023 epic Western crime drama film Killers of the Flower Moon, based on David Grann's 2017 nonfiction novel novel of the same name about the historical Osage Indian murders.
He is, just like in real life, a political boss over Osage Country, Oklahoma; a member of the Osage Indian Reservation and the owner of the Hale Ranch. In the 1920s, Hale becomes the mastermind of a conspiracy to take over the oil-filled lands of the Osage Indian people, ingratiating himself with the Osage community while secretly plotting their demise.
He was portrayed by Robert De Niro, who also played Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II, Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver, Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull, Rupert Pupkin in The King of Comedy, David "Noodles" Aaronson in Once Upon a Time in America, Louis Cyphre in Angel Heart, Al Capone in The Untouchables, Jimmy Conway in Goodfellas, Max Cady in Cape Fear, Frankenstein's Monster in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Neil McCauley in Heat, Dwight Hansen in This Boy's Life, Ace Rothstein in Casino, Louis Gara in Jackie Brown, Gil Renard in The Fan, Fearless Leader in The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, Don Lino in Shark Tale, David Callaway in Hide and Seek, Senator John McLaughlin in Machete and Frank Sheeran in The Irishman.
Personality[]
In public, Hale presents himself with a hospitable, kind, grandfatherly, and gentle man who genuinely enjoys his time with the Osage. Having befriended the many Osage residents, he had managed to obtain the rank of reserve deputy sheriff and forged connections with the inhabitants. However, this is only a well-crafted facade to hide his avarice and bigotry from everyone. Hale secretly considers the Osage a "sickly" people and that their race is slowly dying out, so he feels no remorse for the systematic slaying of the people who have put their trust in him for so long. The only thing that he sees in the Osage is the immense wealth that he desires to have all to himself.
This also applies to his own family to an extent. Hale exploits the naive Ernest into assisting him in his crimes by taking advantage of Ernest's people-pleasing and insecure nature. When Ernest proves to be unreliable and short-sighted, he plots his death so that he doesn't turn on him down the line. His ruthlessness is further shown when he plots the deaths of all of his associates through plotted robberies so that the police can kill them. What makes Hale so terrifying is that of his mastery of manipulation, however. He never reveals his hidden racism to anyone and is charismatic enough to let other people put their trust in him. Hale was able to manipulate the depressed Henry Roan into being his friend so that he can steal his life insurance policy for himself. When things don't go his way, he gets easily upset and lashes out at people, such as when Ernest botches the assassination of Roan, failing to make it look like a suicide.
In the end, Hale never expresses any remorse for his despicable crimes and maintains his jovial facade in the face of persecution. He maintains his superiority complex throughout the film, even brushing off his actions as "common." This shows that William Hale is nothing but a narcissistic, greedy, self-righteous, meticulous, manipulative and self-serving supremacist whose crimes will reverberate throughout the Osage nation forever.
History[]
Hale is a successful cattle rancher, political boss and reserve deputy sheriff in Osage County and the uncle of the Burkhart brothers, Ernest and Byron. Hale is known as a friend of the Osage, speaking their language and bestowing gifts upon the community, and encourages Ernest to marry an Osage woman named Mollie Kyle. However, this is a front. Hale's real interest is in the Osage's oil reserves, and Ernest's marriage to Mollie is for the purpose of giving Hale's family access to her oil headrights.
Hale begins ordering the deaths of a number of wealthy members of the Osage community, having them shot or poisoned and allowing him to seize their headrights. He advises Ernest that he and Mollie will inherit more headrights if Mollie's relatives die and begins systematically annihilating her family, having her mother Lizzie and sister Minnie poisoned and ordering Byron and Kelsie Morrison to kill her pregnant sister Anna, who also happens to be Byron's wife.
Meanwhile, Hale has befriended Henry Roan, a suicidal Osage man, and insured his life for a sizable policy. Once the requisite amount of time has passed, Hale orders Ernest to have him killed and make it look like a suicide. Ernest makes the mistake of sending Roan's friend John Ramsey, who drunkenly botches the job by removing the bullet and thus destroying the illusion that he killed himself. Hale punishes Ernest by having him brought to the local Masonic Temple and beating him with a paddle.
Local investigations into the murder spree come to nothing due to corruption, so Mollie hires private investigators who Hale deals with ruthlessly, having them killed or beaten and run out of town. In desperation, Mollie travels to Washington D.C. and convinces President Calvin Coolidge to send the Bureau of Investigation to Osage to deal with the murders. In response, Hale has Ernest start poisoning her diabetes medicine to slow her down. Hale also hires Acie Kirby to kill Mollie's last surviving sister Reta by dynamiting her house, killing her, her husband Bill and their servant Nettie. This leaves all the family headrights to Mollie, who is close to dying from the poison.
The Bureau of Investigation, led by Tom White, arrive in Osage to begin their investigation. Hale tries to cover his tracks by arranging for Acie Kirby and some of his other men to be killed in botched robberies. Despite this, Ernest is informed on and arrested and Hale tries to have him killed to stop him testifying, but the attempt fails and White convinces Ernest to turn state's evidence against Hale, who is arrested. Hale's lawyer tries to convince him to recant and claim he was tortured, but after being informed that his daughter Anna has died in circumstances similar to other "wasting deaths" Ernest decides to tell the truth, ensuring Hale's conviction. Hale is sentenced to life in prison but is eventually paroled and lives to old age before dying in 1962.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- William Hale in Killers of the Flower Moon marks the tenth collaboration Robert De Niro and director Martin Scorsese have made.
- Although William Hale was 47 years old in 1921 when he ordered the deaths of Mollie Kyle's family, Robert De Niro was 79 when he played the role.
- While filming Killers of the Flower Moon, Robert De Niro broke his quadriceps accidentally while taking a step, but he managed to be healed in time and resume his work in the film thanks to Hale's lack of continuous movement.
- Robert De Niro has compared William Hale to real-life billionaire and former United States of America president Donald Trump, saying that his character is just as "stupid" and that he couldn't understand Hale's motives to betray the family of his nephew's wife - opining that events like George Floyd's murder have exposed the systematic racism people like Hale cause, whom someone must watch out for.
- William Hale is possibly suffering from a form of venereophobia, as hinted when he interrogates Ernest about contracting any diseases during his time in WW1 and when Hale is noticeably made uncomfortable by the idea of Ernest getting Mollie pregnant while the latter was sick (and actively being poisoned).
- For his performance as William Hale, De Niro was nominated for an Academy Award (the ninth total of his career, eighth for acting, and third for supporting actor, though he lost to Robert Downey Jr.'s Lewis Strauss of Oppenheimer), BAFTA, Critics Choice, SAG and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor.
External Links[]
- William Hale on the Pure Evil Wiki