Tag Archives: James ‘Whitey’ Bulger

Black Mass (2015)

Black Mass review.

written by Souranath Banerjee

My Ratings: 4/5.

Comparison with Scorsese’s epic gangster film Goodfellas is inevitable. I think the director is just asking for it.

Black Mass is a true story based on the most notorious American gangster James ‘Whitey’ Bulger.

black-mass-poster2For 12 years he had been on the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) top-ten Most Wanted Fugitives list with a $2 million reward for information about his whereabouts – an amount larger than any other fugitive on the FBI list except for Osama bin Laden!

And Johnny Depp IS the mean and merciless James Bulger. 

I totally agree when the Johnny-Depp-fans claim that this is his best performance; even Depp himself chooses this one to be his favorite film among all his previous works. 

Well, he has not only drastically changed his looks but also his body language, his laugh, his cold and menacing stare are very effective – ‘strictly criminal’ indeed.

black-mass-posterDirector Scott Cooper, known for his earlier films Crazy Heart (2009) and Out of the Furnace (2013), have done a great job in slowly unfolding the drama with a proper balance of thrill and violence.

Joel Edgerton expertly plays the role of the blemished FBI officer who made an infamous deal with Bulger that allowed the ruthless gangster to freely indulge in crime and in exchange he should provide confidential informations about his competitors in South Boston (especially the Italian mafia).

A deal that gave Bulger the license to commit unlimited drug deals and murders. He was ultimately prosecuted for 19 murders based on grand jury testimony though it is said that the actual number of murders he committed were much higher that that.

Then there are a series of most talented supporting actors like black-mass-poster3Benedict CumberbatchDakota JohnsonKevin BaconJulianne NicholsonPeter Sarsgaard whose presence uplifted the overall experience of the film to a different level.

Cinematographer Masanobu Takayanagi needs a mention for his measured camera movements which makes most of the extreme violence in the film not too gory yet effectively disturbing.

A psychopath of highest degree, the blue eyed leader of the Irish-American Winter Hill Gang and interestingly enough a perfect family man too. 

Black Mass, the story of James Bulger is surely worth a watch.

poster curtsey: www.impawards.com