BLACK MASS
Directed by Scott Cooper
Screenplay by Mark Mallouk and Jez Butterworth
Based on the book by Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill
Starring Johnny Depp; Joel Edgerton; and Benedict Cumberbatch
John Connolly ( Edgerton) and James "Whitey" Bulger (Depp) grew up together on the streets of South Boston. Decades later, in the late 1970s, Connolly was a major figure within FBI's Boston office and Whitey had become head of the Irish Mob. What happened between them - being a one sided informant and the take down Boston's Italian Mafia would spiral out of control. All leading to murders, drug dealing, racketeering, and finally to Bulger and Connolly being brought down.
Johnny Depp is fantastic in this saying so much with a look and stare. However the movie is not about him. It is more about John Connolly played by Edgerton. He may even be better than Depp. We follow him as he gets deeper and deeper into the mob mess.
Surrounding these two main characters are a bunch of wonderful small performances. Dakota Johnson, is not in the film as much as the press releases would have you think, is very good as Whitey's wife. A fantastic performance by Julianne Nicholson as Connolly's wife that should be looked at during Oscar time. Come to think about it does she ever give a bad performance. She stole Osage County away from the bigger stars. Cumberbatch as Whitey's brother, like Depp, says so much without talking. He is stuck between being a good man and being a loyal brother to Whitey. And then there is Kevin Bacon as FBI Boston Office head who cannot seem to get anything on Whitey because Connolly continuously blocks the office.
All these fine performances are blocked by a cold...sterile screenplay. Yes Depp drips of evil but we are really never allowed to see the "Whys and What" of his life. We constantly see the end product which is a sadistic killing. We rarely get his thoughts. So we are then left with a film that leaves us walking away thinking, well that was okay and interesting...and that is about it. We even have people like his wife who just disappear, we do not get below the surface of Whitey. Maybe they did not have that much info on Whitey, they only knew what he did.
3 1/2 out of 5 for this violent cold film. I would have started the film from his life out in California and how he lived out there then bring in flashbacks. It would have let us know more about him. More vested.
As always from the shadows as always thanks for your time.
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