Bill C’s Review – 4 out of 5
Black Mass is the story of crime boss Whitey Bulger and his relationship with the FBI prior to his 16 year life as a fugitive.
I liked this a lot. It is reminiscent of Goodfellas (although not as good). Johnny Depp gives a great performance as Bulger – nice as can be one minute and then a psychotic murderer the next. Joel Egerton (who Bill and I both liked in The Gift) was also awesome as Bulger’s FBI handler. He gives a really nuanced performance as someone heading into the abyss as he lets Bulger use him and forgets what his true role is.
This also has a great supporting cast. Benedict Cumberbatch plays Bulger’s brother, a powerful Boston politician. Peter Sarsgaard is terrific as a drug addict. David Harbour is also a standout as an FBI agent.
If you like this type of movie (and don’t mind violence) this is definitely worth seeing.
Bill I’s Review – 4 out of 5
I liked it a lot, same as Bill C, although my rating is closer to a 4- or even 3+, because it’s not close to Goodfellas or Departed (another film that is based on Whitey Bulger, although fictional). I think I liked Ben Affleck’s Town better. This film apparently sticks close to the book written by Boston Globe reporters. I lived in Boston during the heydey of Whitey, and all I knew was that the major crime figure in town was free to walk around while his brother Billy ran the state senate, as the most powerful politician around. This movie doesn’t show really the crimes other than whacking his enemies, or supposed friends, or his scheming, rather it’s a character study of a sociopath, played compellingly by Johnny Depp, and the incredible gullibility/blindness/one-mindedness of the FBI as they focus on the Italian mafia as they let Whitey do his thing, supposedly giving them valuable information, which of course is mostly bogus or invented by his Southie buddy on the FBI. I really liked when they cut to the Winter Hill Gang members who end up informing on Whitey, in order to shave years off their sentences. So, overall an enjoyable couple of hours, and standout performance by Depp and others, but a somewhat cliche story portrayed in a straightforward fashion.
