A steady, but not standout, true gangster film

Rating: 7/10 (24 May 2018)

The film tells the true story of Whitey Bulger, and there are various strands of it which could have been the focus of that story (his links to his Senator Brother, links to the IRA, etc) , but the one chosen is his partnership with the FBI. This reveals the murky nature of the FBI at that time in which his agent handler is more concerned with using Whitey to further his own career, protecting him as a source, rather than using Whitey as an informant to bring down the Italian Mafia. This is because they grew up togethor. The inter-relationships are sketched out more as politics, and business, rather than personal, and whilst engaging, the lack of that personal element is what keeps this film as a steady film, rather than an outstanding one, despite some excellent acting, and period style.