Smooth Criminal

Rating: 9/10 (24 September 2015)

(Rating: ☆☆☆½ out of 4)
This film is highly recommended.
In brief: A standard gangster film that goes above the standard due to a star performance and some fine filmmaking.
GRADE: B+
In Black Mass, Scott Cooper's chilling biography of psychotic killer, James "Whitey" Bulger, we follow a bloody trail of gruesome murders and assorted mayhem on the road to his notoriety. The film chronicles Burger's life and killing sprees, from his beginnings as a small-time thug in South Boston to becoming a dangerous mob leader and F.B.I. informant. Johnny Depp plays this central role and he is brilliant (but more on that later) and the film's other cast members are just terrific too.
￼Crime may not pay, but it sure earned Burger a nice living, before being apprehended after 30+ years of being a career criminal, even using the F.B.I. to help his meteoric rise to the Most Wanted list. The screenplay by Jez Butterworth and Mark Mallouk is so well written and researched. Their script focuses on the personal side of Bulger, with his Irish family ties, particularly his close relationship with his Senator brother (Benedict Cumberbatch) and his childhood friendship with F.B.I. agent, John Connolly (Joel Edgerton). It also solidly interweaves his business dealings with other partners-in-crime. Dialog has a natural rhythm and all of the characters, both major and minor, are fully developed.
￼The director creates a realistic world of criminals and lowlifes. Although the story has a been-there-done-that feel and is too derivative of other gangster films, Cooper's vision is fresh and detail-oriented. Scenes bristle with tension and shocking violence, some merely suggested off-camera; others shown in grisly close-ups. (Be forewarned: The film is extremely gruesome.) He has assembled a top-notch ensemble that inhabit these indelible characters in many memorable moments.
￼This is, by far, one of the year's best acted films of the year. Delivering a break-out performance is the aforementioned Mr. Edgerton as the ambitious and easily corrupted agent and friend, hell-bent on making a professional career at the bureau and using Bulger as any means to accomplish that goal. Benedict Cumberbatch as Burger's loving brother shows his character's range of compassion in his few short scenes. Jesse Plemons, Rory Cochrane, and Peter Saragaard as Bulger's cronies are excellent. Giving strong support in smaller roles are Dakota Johnson as Bulger's girlfriend, Juno Temple as an unfortunate prostitute, Kevin Bacon, Corey Stoll, Adam Scott, and David Harbour as F.B.I. agents, the latter encapsulates a good man caught in the web of corruption. Julianne Nicholson is superb as Connolly's wife, whose uncomfortable and noticeable dislike for Bulger leads to a confrontation scene with Depp that is totally mesmerizing.
￼But it is Mr. Depp who is a marvel of nuanced acting, so unlike his work in these past years. (One forgets his keen ability and talent as an actor with such debacles as The Lone Ranger, Into the Woods, Transcendence, Dark Shadows, The Tourist, so fresh in one's mind...need I go on.) In this film, his portrayal is more than a mere physical transformation with Depp's icy-blue eyes (contacts) matching his ice-cold bloodlessness. (If the eyes are the window to the soul, this ultimately leads to a man devoid of any humanity.) The actor's mannerisms, posturing, and unflinching stares communicate more than his character's hollow and insincere words. He oozes a creepiness with his balding skeletal facial expressions and exudes menace from every pore. His line delivery is deliberately flippant at times, and other times, hesitant with every calculated pause. He plays Bulger as a predator in search of any victim, trusting no one. It's an Oscar worthy performance.
￼Black Mass also has wonderful production values. The make-up and prosthetic work on Mr. Depp makes the actor unrecognizable, and while he does not truly resemble the real criminal, he makes this character a terrifying and totally riveting monster. The atmospheric cinematography by Masanobu Takayanagi's and concise editing by David Rosenbloom make the film more compelling than most from this genre. There is fine period art direction and costumes by Jeremy Woodward and Kasia Walicka-Maimone, respectively. And Junkie XL's musical score heightens the suspense quite effectively.
￼Despite its conventional narrative structure, Black Mass is one of the best films of the year. Cooper and Depp bring new blood to the old aging gangster genre, even if the blood flows in buckets.
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