Run Time: 122 min
Black Mass is a new crime film directed by Scott
Cooper and based on the same-named book by Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill. The
movie features a talented cast led by Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch
and Kevin Bacon. There are several reasons why I was extremely excited to see
this movie, including the fact that I am a huge fan of the mob genre. For
example, I strongly believe that the first two Godfathers stand among
the absolute greatest movies ever made and Scorsese classics such as Goodfellas
and The Departed are right there too. Having said that, the biggest
intrigue for me was the presence of Johnny Depp in this perfectly cast lead
role. The three time Academy Award nominee is easily one of my favorite actors
and I just couldn’t wait to see what he was going to do with this project.
In this true story, Depp portrays James “Whitey” Bulger,
a former kingpin of South Boston and one of the most notorious criminals in
United States history. Beginning in the year 1975, the early portion of the
film chronicles Whitey’s rise
to power as the leader of the Irish-American Winter Hill Gang. Meanwhile, his
brother, William “Billy” Bulger (Benedict Cumberbatch) is working as a
Massachusetts state senator. Before long, Whitey’s rule of organized crime in South Boston is challenged by the
Italian Mafia. Reuniting with his old friend named John Connolly (Joel
Edgerton), who is now working as FBI agent, Whitey agrees to operate as an
informant in order to bring down his only competition.
For the most part, I thought that Black Mass was
an excellent gangster film with some truly amazing acting across the board. For
starters, Johnny Depp completely blew it out of the park with his portrayal of
Bulger and he flat out owned every scene he was in. Putting aside his character
of my childhood hero, Captain Jack Sparrow, this is the best Johnny Depp
performance I have ever seen.
Even considering his already amazing body of
work, I think this could be the role that earns Depp his well-earned Academy
Award. Moving along, I really loved the way this movie was filmed and as
expected there was plenty of brutally realistic violence and language. Overall,
the acting clearly shines bright in Black Mass and it is an award worthy
film that certainly shouldn’t be missed.
No comments:
Post a Comment