Do I smell an Oscar nomination?

Rating: Null/10 (4 October 2015)

Johnny Depp has spent the last few years ruining his career with films like "Alice in Wonderland" (2010), "Dark Shadows" (2012) and "The Lone Ranger" (2013), his roles in which reduced him to caricatures of his own talent. He's been little more than a novelty as of late, all because he hasn't had a truly legitimate role since he introduced the world to Jack Sparrow in 2003 – until "Black Mass", that is.
Almost as if the sole purpose of his role was purely to silence his critics, Depp provides arguably the best work of his career in "Black Mass", and for those of you who have at least seen the trailer, this should come as no surprise. Depp is completely unrecognizable as Whitey Bulger, the single most notorious gangster to ever come out of Boston. The syrupy voice, those icy blue eyes, the bravado in his gait; every aspect of his performance is the categorical opposite of Depp himself.
Needless to say, I'd put my money on Depp earning an Oscar nomination, and he might just win it depending on the other contenders. But Depp's performance seems to be the only thing people are talking about when it comes to "Black Mass". There are other characters and a plot to boot, but even the film itself doesn't really seem interested in much other than showing us just how fantastically talented Depp really is.
As far as modern gangster flicks go, "Black Mass" feels pretty familiar. This is in part due to the fact that the film is very much like a documentary. It provides little insight beyond what much of the public already knows, mainly because, like many biopics, it tries to encompass 40 years of Bulger's life in a two-hour runtime: a feat that is rarely achieved gracefully.
Bulger's inner workings are explored, but only briefly, never with any true depth or analysis. We follow him as he runs his business, racketeering, selling drugs and murdering those that get in his way, but most of this information could be found on his Wikipedia page. The real psychology of the man behind the monster is never really discovered.
This is partially because Bulger isn't really the protagonist of "Black Mass", which makes sense when considering that he's basically a super villain. Many biopics about the seedier individuals in history will employ this technique; instead of making the biopic's subject the protagonist, we see the whole story through the eyes of one of their close associates. "Black Mass" makes an attempt at this method but never really establishes a clear lead character to take the audience through the story. Instead of seeing through the eyes of one character, we are given the perspectives of several, which reduces the clarity of the plot.
This could partially be due to the fact that director Scott Cooper has never dealt with a subject of the same magnitude as Whitey Bulger. His previous works, "Crazy Heart" (2009) and "Out of the Furnace" (2013), were much simpler stories dealing with love and loss, and even though neither is as taut as they could be, both are more focused and fleshed out than "Black Mass".
But I don't mean to be a downer. "Black Mass" is definitely a great film from a director on the rise who has proved time and time again that he's capable of pulling out the best in his actors. Thanks to Depp's towering presence, the film contains many incredibly tense scenes and one of the most interesting characters of recent memory. "Black Mass" may not be revolutionary but it's certainly worth the price of admission.