White Mass.

Rating: 9/10 (23 September 2015)

Black Mass (2015): Dir: Scott Cooper / Cast: Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dakota Johnson, Rory Cochrane: True story account about the power of James "Whitey" Bulger who, for decades, avoided arrest because of FBI. Agent John Connolly looking for promotion decides to take advantage of his childhood friendship with Bulger and his brother William "Billy" Bulger who is now a Senator. John approaches William in hopes of having James be an informant in hopes of bringing down mafia groups. Reluctant, the FBI accepts this notion, but this only opens opportunity for James and his gang to commit further crimes while Connolly turns a blind eye. Directed by Scott Cooper whose credits include Crazy Heart and Out of the Furnace. Here he captures the era of this series of crimes but the problem is that there is no strong central protagonist. Johnny Depp gives a menacing performance as "Whitey" whose morals have long decayed. Joel Edgerton as Connolly has crossed the line from FBI to crime associate and struggles to maintain innocence in view of his fearful wife and glaring co-workers. Benedict Cumberbatch as William is torn between being a Senator and his brother's criminal reputation. Dakota Johnson plays Bulger's wife who tearfully decides to pull the plug on their son who is hospitalized. This act plus the death of his mother puts Bulger over the edge. Rory Cochrane plays Bulger's right hand guy Steve Flemmi who even stoops to a situation that results in the murder of his stepdaughter. It shows the rise and eventual fall of a criminal mastermind whose ceremony came to close in 2011. Score: 9 / 10