Solid mobster crime drama with a stellar Johnny Depp

Rating: 8/10 (19 September 2015)

"Black Mass" (2015 release; 122 min.) brings the story of James "Whitey" Bulger (played by Johnny Depp), the infamous Boston mobster. As the movie opens, we see one of Bulger's associates strike a deal with the FBI to spill everything ("I want it on record, I'm not a rat", ha!). We then flash back to "1975, South Boston", and we get to know Bulger and his small circle of trusted associates. In a parallel story, we get to know FBI agent John Connolly (played by Joel Edgerton), also a 'Southie' who has just returned to Boston. Connolly convinces Bulger to become an FBI informant (which Bulger hopes will help him eliminate the rival mobsters from North Boston). To tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.
Couple of comments: first, the is the latest movie from up-and-coming director Scott Cooper, who earlier brought us the excellent films "Crazy Heart" (2009) and "Out of the Furnace" (2013). Unlike those movies, he did not write the script for "Black Mass" not thought up the story (the film is based on the book of the same name). That does not diminish Cooper's merits with this one, as Cooper strikes the right tone and brings us a gritty and hard-as-nails crime drama. If tough language (the F bomb drops frequently) or violence (yes, people will get hurt and killed), then do yourself a favor and stay away from this. The best part of the movie for me is as we see the noose getting tighter and tighter around Bulger's neck (figuratively speaking) and options are starting to diminish. Second, the performance from Johnny Depp is nothing short of stellar, reconfirming our (ebbing) belief that this is a top notch actor,. It makes you cringe just thinking of some of the other recent movies he's done ("Mordecai", anyone?). Depp is almost unrecognizable as the infamous mobster. There are a TON of other noteworthy performances, including from Kevin Bacon (as the head of the Boston FBI), but also Adam Scott as another FBI agent, Benedict Cumberbatch as Billy Bulger (the bother who was a state senator), and Dakota Johnson as Bulger's girlfriend. Solid work all around. Kudos as well to the production team for painstakingly recreating the late 70s/early 80s, making the movie a true period piece. Be sure to stick around when the end credits start rolling, as we get a bunch of archive video footage and pictures from the real people, just fascinating.
I had been looking forward to seeing this. The movie opened this weekend and I went to see it right away. the early evening screening where I saw this at here in Cincinnati was very well attended, somewhat to my surprise, given the tough nature of the movie. With the summer blockbusters in the rearview mirror, maybe people are ready for something completely altogether. "Black Mass" surely is that. If you are in the mood for a tough crime drama featuring Johnny Depp at its best, you cannot go wrong with this. "Black Mass" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!