Great Flick: About as true as it gets, which makes it boring at times...

Rating: 8/10 (3 December 2015)

I grew up around this life, first in Queens and later when I moved to Southie to reconnect with the guys that I served with in the Marines. This is about as true as it gets. It misses the dramatic thrill of 'The Departed." It does not have the compelling power struggle of "The Godfather" movies. It is sort of a poor-man's Goodfellas in that the criminals are typical Irish gangsters of their era. They do not wear suits and get all dolled up. They kill, steal, and scheme - in jeans and bad jackets - that is what they do. In this regard, if you are looking for a movie that will end with some extraordinary dramatic flourish, you will be disappointed. The Godfather or the Sopranos are not the real life of these guys or most mobsters - Irish, Italian, or otherwise. The movie sucks you into the day-to-day existence of a guy who many questioned as to whether or not he was more psychopath than sociopath, and it makes you decide which was he. The one issue I have is that it allows other guys to walk away cleanly. Steve Flemmi is especially given a pass, when everyone knows he was a mass murderer and rapist of women. In the movie they make Flemmi out to be a sympathetic figure (probably because he was hired as a consultant). But in the end, you get a real picture of Whitey. He never really had to kill a lot of folks to get ahead because of the Irish Gang wars of the 1960s and 70s left him as the last man standing. Since the Italian mafia was the Federal focus of the time, he gets the deal he wants from the FBI and the local PD - especially in an Irish Boston that hated anyone with a vowel on the wrong side of his name. He sort of plods his way into power and once he is there, he holds it through pure and justifiable fear. In the end, you see what really happens - no drama... Whitey just committed crimes as easily as he breathed. It was natural for him. That is what makes this movie awesome. Johnny Depp really captures the essence of a guy that just kills people - sometimes for no real purpose. If you like the history of Organized Crime, you will love this movie. If you are looking for a two hour shoot 'em out, you will not. If you like your gangsters in suits and ties, you will hate it. If you like your mobsters in their real element, you will love it. I loved it.