A Chilling Mob Biopic

Rating: 8/10 (18 September 2015)

Black Mass is a completely enthralling biopic about one of the most violent mobsters in Boston history, but even more impressively represents a return to form for Johnny Depp. This film hinges on Depp's performance, if he's not good the film would come across as slow, but even when the film slows down Depp's chilling performance as Whitey Bulger keeps you interested. The film had to compete with the fact that the man James "Whitey" Bulger was a heavy inspiration for Frank Costello in Martin Scorsese's "The Departed", however the film did a good job looking at the character in a different angle. Many of the other characters lack development, and the story wears thin at times, but for the most part the film is well constructed, and even better executed. Depps performance, the beautiful cinematography, dark humor, and the perfectly dark tone make Black Mass a really solid Mob drama.