Fascinating but screenplay is a bit unbalanced

Rating: 8/10 (18 September 2015)

This fascinating true story about Irish gangster Whitey Bulger who is the brother of MA State Senator. Whitey becomes informant to the FBI to help take down the Mafia. In return they turn a blind eye to his shady dealings. The story requires some concentration as there are a lot of characters. The good point is that it's not too jumbled up. It's clear about the 'deal' and the character's motives and the gradual corruption of FBI agent John Connolly Whitey's childhood friend. The screenplay is a bit repetitive about these points and could have spent a little time on his early years and later fugitive years. Not enough of his personal life is shown as well. The focus is too much on the rub outs and the agents.
There are several brutal killings but it's not too graphic by today's standards.
The cast is stellar. Johnny Depp though not very Irish looking is quite convincingly made up and sinister with less hair and bad teeth. He is effective without overacting. Benedict Cumberbatch is a strange choice to play the senator brother, not looking like Depp at all and coming across quite British and reserved. Breaking Bad's Jesse Plemons convincingly plays Whitey's sidekick Kevin Weeks. Joel Edgerton is well cast as the FBI childhood friend of Whitey. Corey Stoll has a small but effective role as a good guy who comes in to clean up things. Peter Sarsgaard is suitably druggie as the drug snorting associate. Dakota Johnson as the baby mama is surprisingly effective. More of Whitey's personal relationships could have been shown.
Worth a watch for the fascinating true story.