Realistic and Revealing

Rating: 8/10 (16 February 2016)

This movie is based on actual people and real events. It's not a typical crime thriller, it's a realistic classic on the same level as Goodfellas.
Director Scott Cooper, the screenwriters and lead actor Johnny Depp do an excellent job of gradually revealing the personality of Whitey Bulger, a true psychopath. Bulger is quick to betray his friends and is unforgiving even to his closest associates when they present the slightest threat to him, while at the same time he demands total loyalty from everybody around him.
I haven't liked Joel Edgerton in other roles, such as Ramses in Exodus: Gods and Kings, but he is the ideal actor to play John Connolly.
Black Mass moves along at just the right pace, not too fast for character development and yet quickly enough so that it's never dull.