"Thank God for Whitey Bulger."

Johnny Depp gives a brilliant performance as Jimmy "Whitey" Bulger, leader of the Irish-American Winter Hill Gang in the 1970's and 80's. The film follows his infamous rise to power, with the help from his childhood friend and now FBI Agent, John Connelly (Joel Edgerton).

There are a lot of events that occur in this movie that Whitey has to constantly fix, and that's the coundrum many biopics tend to face; the loss of a sense of direction. The film seems to be heading to a lot of places but the story and narrative seem very unfocused, as the director does not know how to balance several arcs within the film. It feels as if I just saw a story unfold with a very interesting character but in the end, nothing really mattered because there was no specific plot or objective driving it forward. Films such as The Social Network, The Imitation Game, and Straight Outta Compton are examples of biopics that have a driving energy throughout the film; something Black Mass severely lacked, that may have led it to fulfill its potential.


That being said, the cast in this film is absolutely superb and the highlight of the film by far. Depp delivers a long awaited comeback of a role, Edgerton is sharp as usual, and though I wish Cumberbatch was in it more, he obviously delivers as well.

The cinematography is also fantastic in this movie, and really sets the vibe and environment of Boston in the 1970s and 80s. Couples with a tense and unnerving score, there are some great scenes in this film and I truly hope it could have delivered more.

In the end, Black Mass is a biopic that shines because of its brilliant ensemble of a cast but in the end, is muddled down due to its lack of focus and narrative structure.

Bulger's playing us, making a fool of the Bureau. We're in too deep, and he knows it! God help us all.

Black Mass is the story of Whitey Bulger (Johnny Depp), who was the brother of a state senator and the infamous violent leader of South Boston's Winter Hill Gang. It charts his criminal activities and his subsequent dealings with the FBI.

Directed by Scott Cooper, Black Mass is one of those instances where a great lead performance deserves a better over all film. Depp literally inhabits the role of Bulger in a fully formed perf that reminds us of what a fine actor he can be. Unfortunately the edgy material to hand never really ignites in filmic form. Maybe we were spoilt by the offerings of Coppola and Scorsese previously? For this comes off as a cheap imitation of far greater films, with the crafters of the pic giving us something of a caricature piece.

Although compelling as a lead character study, much of the narrative is rendered as playing it safe, putting emotive heart where it doesn't belong. Most of the support characters, and key to the story, are under developed, while the pace is decidedly attention sapping and not adroitly understated. Nevertheless, we do get good acting perfs to support Depp, notably Joel Edgerton as corrupt FBI agent John Connolly, while Masanobu Takayanagi's (Hostiles) cinematography is delicate of moody hues.

There's a fascinating story trying to get out of this, but the 15 year wait to get it to screen hasn't been worth it. There's some truly electric scenes, but they are few and far between, which gives us ultimately just a compact and safe piece of gangster film making. 5/10