Black Mass

James "Whitey" Bulger made a name for himself as a mob boss and a fugitive. So much so that his complicated story became a book, Black Mass, and was used for elements of The Departed. Now the viewing public gets to see the former come to cinematic life.

It's 1975, and Bulger (Johnny Depp) is the Kingpin of the Winter Hill Gang and of South Boston in general. His brother Bill (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a US Senator and their friend John Connolly (Joel Edgerton) is an FBI Agent. Connolly wants to take down the Angiulo Brothers gang, while Bulger would like them gone. So Connolly proposes to Bulger about becoming his informant within the criminal underworld. Bulger agrees.

On one hand, Bulger proves a valuable asset to the FBI. On the other hand, he's still doing criminal business as usual. Each murder and racket he commits makes Connolly's co-workers fume. But he just doesn't want to give up his most valuable asset yet. Not even if that most valuable asset is an unpredictable mobster.

The screenplay, realized by director Scott Cooper, frames the story with Federal interviews with Bulger's now-former associates. These interviews give the audience some insightful facts about Bulger's career. The problem is when certain characters are introduced and phased-out too quickly. A lot of insight gets lost in the mayhem.

But the one constant character, Bulger himself, is amazing. As portrayed by Depp, he's an affable man with a violent streak. The type you can discuss business with the second before he shoots you. He's unlike most characters Depp has ever portrayed, that's for sure. The ghastly makeup renders Depp completely unrecognizable, with his last scene making him a splitting image of the real man ... and his face was barely visible then!

Black Mass is an unusually lean two hours long. It could have benefited from some more developed insight into its supporting characters and their relationship to Bulger. But overall, it was a good Gangster movie.