Black Mass

Rating: 6/10 (19 October 2015)

There's no doubt that Johnny Depp's career has had several ups and downs. For every 'Edward Scissorhands' or 'Ed Wood', there's a 'The Tourist' or 'Mortdecai. 'Black Mass' falls somewhere between the two, Depp is fantastic but the film itself, drags.
Depp plays Whitey Bulger, a Boston gangster with a psychotic edge, who aligns himself with childhood friend and FBI agent, John Connolly, played by Joel Edgerton. It's almost a cliché to say that a performance is 'trans-formative' but it does apply to Depp in this film. Much like Steve Carrell in 'Foxcatcher', you look past the make up and see a truly nuanced performance that is surprisingly subtle at times, if not ludicrously OTT as well. Joel Edgerton's performance is likely to not get as much awards attention as Depp's, but he deserves to. One scene in particular which show's his range is where he has to bluff his way through a conversation with his boss about the FBI's involvement with Bulger. His demeanor goes from showboating jerk to sniveling loser in seconds. A man whose power only extends to a certain degree and no more.
The dark atmosphere and weather of South Boston gives the film a grey-ish tint to it. This reflects the dark subject matter as well as the spiraling mood of Bulger and the people he is connected to. However, it also gives the film a very boring 'look'. The cinematography is not particularly engaging nor beautiful either.
All of the criticisms are mostly nitpicks because the biggest issue with the film is that it is all too familiar. Shades of The Sopranos here (Family and home life juxtaposed with violence etc.), hints of Goodfellas there (Links with the FBI, "How am I funny") which gives the vibe of a boring college gangster slideshow and/or quiz of 'Guess the gangster film!'. For a casual viewer, it could be effective. But sometimes, it's a little too lazy on standard gangster film traits.
What elevates a crime film from ordinary to brilliant, is the layers and subtext attached to it. The Godfather is great because it juggles a man's blood thirsty ambitions with his family life. Heat is great because it examines the relationship between the cop and criminal. Black Mass features Johnny Depp kicking someone's head in, and that's about it. But boy does he do some good kicking!