Black Mass (2015)

Black Mass is an episodic film narrative and ultimately unsatisfactory relatively uncinematic history. The story of James "Whitey" Bulger and his decades-long alliance with the FBI is definitely an interesting piece of history, but that does not mean that it necessarily requires a version of the feature film. We've had a fascinating and info-packed documentary on the subject, Whitey Joe Berlinger :. United States of America v Whitey Bulger, a year ago. This film, based on the book 2001 Black Mass: The True Story of an unholy alliance between the FBI and the Irish mafia by Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill, simply said one of the notes of the cliff / barebones version of the same story awkwardly crammed into three acts, but endowed with no idea or real context. Ultimately, it boils down to watch Johnny Depp threat and sometimes bad / criminal kill his fellow colleagues. There is so little happening under the surface or even between the lines that you are hoping for a moment of bloody violence to keep your attention. If there is a reason why this piece of history from Boston needs processing feature film, director Scott Cooper (including out of the oven, I liked) and screenwriters Jez Butterworth and Mark Mallouk not even bother to try to dig.

Yes, for the record, Johnny Depp is here as Mr. Bulger. It is a performance often under with just enough scenery chewing to be decided in a trailer, but it is still Depp making the so-called "funny hat" tour. This does not necessarily mean an insult, as you talk to The man who loves and Mortdecai The Lone Ranger, but his work as Bulger's only a big deal if you sincerely think he is not seeking in its efforts gayest / blockbuster-y or if you're the kind of person who think playing a killer in a dark picture of the crime is automatically more interesting than playing a pirate in a fantasy blockbuster. But this is a separate conversion. But nevertheless, her makeup and wig extensive work is distracting foul. Everybody in the large support team like themselves, and they look more like normal human beings, while the advance of Depp looks like a Dick Tracy villain. And by virtue of how Bulger is presented, it is absolutely out as something of a comic book villain in an otherwise low-key drama, although his actions and thoughts are not terribly interesting.