Black Mass, the highly anticipated cinematic chronicle of the life and crimes of James “Whitey” Bulger starring Johnny Depp as the notorious gangster, is finally here. The Scott Cooper-directed pic features an all-star cast (including Benedict Cumberbatch, Joel Edgerton, Kevin Bacon and more) and lands in theaters hoping to join a legacy of legendary mob movies that includes The Godfather and Goodfellas.
Although Black Mass is not quite either of those two iconic gangster films, it is a fantastic narrative that focuses on the unholy alliance between the FBI and one of Boston’s most nefarious crime lords.
Depp is mesmerizing as Bugler, and if he doesn’t get an Oscar nod for this turn, we would be shocked. Matching him note for note is the yin to his yang on screen, Edgerton as FBI Agent John Connolly, a fellow Southie (someone from South Boston). Bulger, Connolly and Cumberbatch’s state senator Billy Bulger all grew up together and they have a connection that will create a tangled web of opportunities and issues for all three.
Connolly convinces his bosses and fellow agents that the key to getting the Italian mafia behind bars is to enlist Irish mobster Bulger as an informant, someone who can lead them right to the big fish. Bulger, in turn, uses his newly achieved criminal carte blanche to build an empire in Bean Town that, yes, eventually leads to the FBI takedown of Mafiosos, but in the process makes Bulger even MORE powerful.
Meanwhile, Billy Bulger is trying to keep his brother’s business from ruining his political career that could not be brighter. All told, it seems that everything Whitey touches makes him rich and more powerful and everyone else around him a little dirtier and bloodied.
Black Mass is a riveting study in some of the measures our government will go to in order to achieved its goals. In many ways, the agreement between the FBI and Bulger was no different than a deal with the devil. Whitey is a sociopath. Through Depp’s riveting turn, the character is the rare screen presence that audiences will simultaneously be unable to take their eyes off of and yet also want him to be incarcerated or taken down.
Depp has always had a flair for playing characters on the fringe, but rarely — if ever — have we witnessed the actor utilize that talent for crafting a character that is downright creepy, bloodthirsty and bombastic in his bull in a china shop way of living his life. The actor explores depths of character that we have not seen in some time, like maybe since Finding Neverland. He is electric, exquisite and envelops this entire film with his gangster grip that will haunt you for weeks after witnessing it.
Edgerton is also a stunner. He takes a role that could have been a caricature and turns it into the most complex of law enforcement characters. His strain between being loyal to this old Southie neighborhood rogue who used to come to his aid as a kid (Whitey Bulger) and his current professional demands is palpable. And the way that he gets lost on both sides of the line of ethics is tragic and harrowing as portrayed by Edgerton.
There are no weak links in this entire all-star cast and kudos has to go to director Cooper. The work he did on Out of the Furnace and Crazy Heart was merely a warm-up act to this fine work. There is a lot of material, decades of it, when it comes to portraying the life of James “Whitey” Bulger. To capture what Cooper did in just over two hours is truly remarkable.
Grade: A-