Black Mass

Review By: John Delia

A very violent and disturbing true story Black Mass takes you into the world of one of Boston’s infamous criminals James “Whitey” Bulger.  Played out superbly by Johnny Depp as Bulger and for his performance alone this film should not be missed.  Well-acted by a superior support cast and directed by Scott Cooper the movie should be considered for the short list of Oscar contenders.  While the story gets very brutal and alarming, there’s no other way to tell it.

In the 1970’s Boston, Whitey Bulger (Johnny Depp) finds himself in a position to make a lot of money with his drugs and racketeering business. He runs his Irish Mafia with an iron fist ordering killings, using extortion and other forms of illegal activities. He becomes insulted easily and often relishes in disposing the victims that he personally knocks off. You would think he’d have kept his life clean with a brother that’s a Senator (Benedict Cumberbatch), but not this determined crook. When his old friend John Connolly (Joel Edgerton) gets promoted in the FBI he’s handed a brilliant idea of squealing on his foes, the Italian Mob.

The film gets very ruthless, showing the power of the crazed man. Director Scott Cooper (Out of the Furnace) keeps the focus on Bulger and Connolly as they play their deadly game. He moves the story along at a typical pace while taking seething close-ups of Johnny Depp as Bulger that will make you cringe. Edgerton as Connolly on the other hand gets to create a pompous FBI Agent that keeps funneling information to the feds and getting credit for the busts.

This performance by Depp is truly his best in a long while. He strays far from comedy here and makes his Whitey Bulger a chilling monster who doesn’t hesitate to do a killing himself. He has the Boston accent down just right and never falters with the dialogue throughout the film. His frightening light blue eyes (provided by the make-up department) make you want to avoid looking at the screen, but you will want to see every moment of his performance. The closest drama to compare Depp in a drama would be Public Enemies, where he plays John Dillinger. But the evil Bulger he portrays here is way above the Dillinger role.

Edgerton pulls off an excellent performance as the FBI Agent who has the biggest chance of a lifetime.  Connolly is a schemer and if he can get his old friend Bulger to help him take down the Italian Mob in exchange for a “look the other way” on his illegal business deals, he’ll be on top of the world.  Connolly flaunts his “in” with Bulger and the FBI gives him a long rope and carte blanche.  Working both ends of the rope is very dangerous and Edgerton shows Connolly slowly entering a trap he may never escape.

One of the better performances in the film comes from Jessie Plemons (“Breaking Bad”) as Kevin Weeks one of Bulger’s nasty hitmen. He wants to get ahead in the Irish Mafia and doesn’t hesitate to take orders to kill so he’ll be better liked by his boss. He opens the film aged and nervous as he gives the feds damaging evidence on Bulger. His character tells the story of Bulger’s Mafia as we watch the film spool out.

Also turning in a very good performance is Juno Temple as Deborah Hussey, a prostitute that gets questioned by police. Since she is one of Bulger’s “girls,” he takes her to task at his safe house. There he asks her if the police asked questions about him. It’s a very brutal scene and Temple handles the role without a hitch.

Black Mass has been rated R for brutal violence, language throughout, some sexual references and brief drug use. Be prepared for some very cruel and ruthless scenes.

FINAL ANALYSIS: A very good production featuring a cool performance by Johnny Depp. (A)