Black Mass is Scott Cooper’s bio-pic about the
legendary Boston gangster Jimmy “Whitey” Bulger (Johnny Depp) and his
reign as the most feared man in Boston. Bulger takes an unconventional
route to the top by not only being the brother to
State Senator Billy Bulger (Benedict Cumberbatch), but he is also an
informant for F.B.I. agent John Connolly (Joel Edgerton). The film
follows the two decades of Bulger using his law enforcement contacts to
protect himself and his business. Whitey may have
been a rough and tough guy, but he was far more intelligent than he is
given credit for.
Depp plays Bulger with a kind of resolve and
immersion that we haven’t seen from the actor in a long time. To rob
Breaking Bad, he becomes the danger. People fear him and he knows it
with Depp playing the role perfectly. It also turns out
that this story also belongs to Edgerton’s character, who feels the
link to South Boston, but unwittingly falls into the corruption of the
Bulger organization without even himself realizing it. The film is not
so much a cat and mouse film as it’s seeing what
Bulger can get away with next, and he gets away with quite a bit. Most
of the performances in the film are spot on and give the film a richness
it needs.
The issues that come with this film are in the
presentation of the story. For a quarter of a century people have tried
to reinvent the vibe from Goodfellas (even Martin Scorsese is a known
offender). Black Mass is no different and it pulls
you from the story because it feels like the director is trying too
hard to recapture past gangster film triumphs. There’s a reason why we
never see films attempt to repeat The Godfather’s karma- many have
failed and are lost to our memories. Black mass may
go beyond going down the drain of films forgotten, but it still feels
forced. Add to that the connections between this film and Scorsese’s The
Departed and you add to the issue.
A word of warning when watching this film. If
you have seen The Departed you will be reminded of bits and pieces from
that film. Of course The Departed is a re-make of the Asian film
Infernal Affairs and the broad premise of the film is
based on Bulger’s life, which doesn’t help in the matter. It will take
the first forty minutes of the film to go by before you stop comparing
it to The Departed, taking away from the experience I’m afraid. Overall
the film is a well acted piece that really
tries too hard to be a classic gangster film. This will probably be a
forgotten piece in five years time, reminding you of its existence on
late night television. This is really a shame because Depp’s performance
is one of his best in recent memory and shouldn’t
be thrown away and forgotten. A well acted film that fails to really
capture the audience because none of the characters are very
sympathetic. A missed opportunity.
