Depp excels in a movie that is serviceable but forgettable

Rating: 8/10 (13 October 2015)

I understand now what everyone means when they say they've come away from Black Mass feeling pretty much nothing. I place blame for that with Scott Cooper, who is the perfect example of "safe" director choice. He can pull out great performances and construct solid scenes but he has no flair or trademark to his ability. Just as Crazy Heart was a less interesting rehash of The Wrestler, Black Mass is a less fun, surprisingly less compelling version of Goodfellas. That's not to say Black Mass is bad. It is throughly well put together and honestly I can't point to a flaw, its just that with only one exception, nothing in this movie is particularly memorable.
That exception is the acting. Boy oh boy how happy I am to say that I like Johnny Depp now. After a decade defiling our screens with excruciating melodramas, unwanted Pirates sequels and Tim Burton colour-gasms, his performance as James Whitey Bulger is easily the finest of the year. He wears his dead tooth, slicked back hair and skull makeup like a crown and owns every single scene of this film. He's cold, collected, brutal and completely remorseless. He has no qualms about killing women or coaching his son to assault other children. Not since Javier Bardem's Oscar-winning turn as Anton Chigurh have I been so thankful this guy can't come up and speak to me in real life. I would honestly not know what to do. However, it is the tragically too few scenes in which Cooper lets Depp tap into Bulger's human side (his relationship with his son) that Depp really shines. A look of haunted hope or grief crosses his face very briefly, before he buries it down beneath the surface of evil. Just as Cooper finally won Bridges his Oscar, I think and hope that Depp ascends to the stage next February.
Black Mass is definitely an acting vehicle. Joel Edgerton is also very good here, transforming from FBI nobody to cocky top man as he coasts through the ranks. Dakota Johnson is great in a small role as Jimmy's girlfriend - it takes a lot of skill to look at Depp's Whitey Bulger and show convincing affection and love in your eyes. Julianne Nicholson's holds up her end of the bargain in a scene that allows Depp to really show Bulger's sick mannerisms. Benedict Cumberbatch, Peter Saarsgard, Corey Stoll and Jesse Plemons are all great, though I wish Kevin Bacon had been given more to do.
The film's pacing is excruciating, probably the longest two hours of my life. The story of Black Mass is fascinating, but surprisingly I found myself bored by the film's screenplay. We jump from event to event just before each murder or crime is committed, not really understanding why its happening. Its as if Cooper was more interested in showing the murders than explaining why they happened. There's some great dialogue in here, particularly a line about playing cops and robbers in the playground and in real life, but not enough to keep the film moving along at a steady pace. I still love the "family secret" scene, although I know is less effective than the one in Goodfellas - and for some reason works less effectively than in the trailer.
Beyond that, though, there's little to criticise about Black Mass. Its serviceable enough to recommend for Depp's performance, and I hope that he and the makeup artists get the recognition they deserve, but beyond that I can't help but feel let down by a film that was in my top three anticipated of the year.