Application of Noel Carroll's evaluative theory in fiction film criticism (Case study: Criticism of the movie Killers of the flower Moon)

Evaluation is one of the most crucial pillars of art criticism. As Carroll asserts, the critique process is incomplete without evaluation and should not rely solely on description and interpretation. In his book "On Criticism," Carroll addresses the key issues that a critic must consider when evaluating artistic works. The critique process envisioned by Carroll establishes a dialectic between achievement value (objective aspects) and received value (subjective aspects), ultimately deriving the final criteria through this method.This research aims to identify the fundamental elements of Carroll's evaluative criticism theory and demonstrate their practical application in the realm of fiction film criticism. Consequently, after establishing a connection between these components and their cinematic counterparts, an opportunity for the systematic critique of fiction films is created. To this end, the essential elements of Carroll's theory applicable to fiction film criticism are employed, followed by the presentation of their theoretical instances in the context of film. Subsequently, to achieve a detailed and systematic application, the film "Killers of the Flower Moon" is critiqued as a case study. This research is conducted using a descriptive-analytical method, relying on library resources and Carroll's theory. The main components of Carroll's theory that can be inferred for fiction film criticism include: first, Success Value, which is evaluated concerning stylistic and textual techniques and the filmmaker's tendencies towards possible innovations. This issue, regarding "Killers of the Flower Moon," pertains to the filmmaker's historical reference to the Western genre. The second topic concerns artistic techniques, which find relevance under the discussion of genre in cinema. Due to overlaps with the third topic—narrative and characterization—they are analyzed together. The results concerning "Killers of the Flower Moon" indicate that some weaknesses arising from characterization and dramatic effects, combined with neglect of certain genre-specific traits, lead to a negative evaluation of the film. The fourth topic is the evaluation of the work based on the filmmaker's intentionality, where the filmmaker also fails to achieve some of his objectives, such as depicting Native American independence and making certain scenes impactful. Overall, according to Carroll's theory, after examining the main evaluation points, the film's overall evaluation can be considered negative.

Keywords: Review, Evaluation, Cinema, Noel Carroll, Fiction film, The Killers of flower Moon