By TIM ESTILOZ ★★★★☆
In the film Black Mass, Johnny Depp erases any remote vestige of the light, somewhat whimsical and oddball characters that he has played in many of his recent films. Instead, Depp uses his amazingly chilling portrayal of infamous Boston mobster James “Whitey” Bulger to completely envelop, transform and, indeed, disappear into an on-screen character that is the epitome of evil and criminal depravity.
Yet, the brilliance of Depp’s performance is that this reptilian malevolence is often deceptively cloaked beneath a razor thin veneer of charismatic charm. Perhaps as the real Whitey Bulger was reported to be like; Depp’s Bulger is convincingly genteel enough to woo an adoring smile from a grateful elderly resident of South Boston that his thugs help early in the film; while later, he shakes an apologetic friend’s hand while watching one of his murderous underlings blow the unfortunate guy’s brains out from behind in mid grasp.
Black Mass is based on the non-fiction book written by Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neill that meticulously chronicled the period during the 1970’s into the 80’s during which Bulger’s infamous Winter Hill Gang ruled Boston’s underworld with vicious, ruthless and cold-blooded impunity. As in the book, director Scott Cooper focuses on the unholy alliance between the FBI and Bulger; as the feds believe they’re using Bulger as an informant to take down what they believe is the city’s bigger threat, the Mafia in Boston’s North End.
However, it’s the relationship between Bulger and his former neighborhood friend now FBI agent John Connolly ( Joel Edgerton ) that is central to this story. Connolly believes Bulger will provide information against the Italian Mob, and by extension, raise his cachet within the FBI. However, Bulger, sees an opportunity to eventually turn the tables and once free of Mafia opposition, rule the city’s crime shadows through a seemingly endless series of brutal murders, racketeering, drug dealing and even gun running to the IRA in Northern Ireland.
Factually, there’s nothing new in the film that wasn’t effectively covered in Joe Berlinger’s 2014 documentary, Whitey; nor for anyone who actually lived through the horror of Whitey Bulger’s reign of terror in Boston and his recent sensational trial for his crimes. However, what sets this film apart are the marvelous performances by its ensemble cast, led by an amazing and award worthy performance by Johnny Depp.
Joel Edgerton is marvelous as the smarmy and manipulative FBI agent John Connolly, a character willing to sell his soul and morality to move up the agency food chain; while turning a blind eye to the evil he himself has unleashed with an unfettered Bulger.
Jesse Clemmons and Rory Cochrane as Bulger’s henchmen, Kevin Weeks and Stephen Flemmi respectively turn in fine performances. Cochrane has a truly notable scene as he silently and dutifully watches Bulger himself brutally murder someone his characters loves. The brutality takes place mostly off camera; however the vicious horror and pain is written all over Cochrane’s silent and agonized face as he’s forced to watch.
The main actresses in this film, Dakota Johnson as Bulger’s wife and Julianne Nicholson as Connolly’s wife, Marianne both have stellar moments on screen; unfortunately via their characters being on the receiving end of Bulger’s simmering venom and murderous rage.
Indeed, arguably it’s Depp’s scenes with these two female characters that show the full range of his exceptional performance as a chilling psychopath. In one scene, Depp is a doting father over his adorable young son; albeit giving the young tyke parental advice more suitable for one of his hit men, while his wife looks on mildly disapproving yet faithful to her man.
However, when a tragedy strikes their son, Johnson as Bulger’s wife is faced with the literal transformation before her eyes of her husband into a steely-eyed, threatening killer when she suggests a humane resolution to their son’s terminal condition. The transformation is bone-chilling for her, and for the audience as well.
Sadly, actor Benedict Cumberbatch is woefully miscast as Whitey’s brother, William Bulger who was one of the most powerful politicians in the state during Whitey’s crime reign.
Still, Black Mass is Johnny Depp’s showcase. His equally chilling yet charismatic portrayal of one America’s most infamous and vicious criminals; at one point second only to Osama Bin Laden on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted List, is a superbly earned jump start to a career that had arguably grown stagnant.
Like it’s central character, Black Mass is vicious, brutal and dark. It is also marvelously unforgettable.
