September is historically the beginning of Oscar season and people are looking at who is going to be the leading man in this year’s race. While it may not hold, Johnny Depp has thrown his hat in the ring in one of the best performances of his career in Black Mass.
Taking place in the 1970s-80s, Depp plays Jimmy “Whitey” Bulger, a notorious mob boss centering his operation out of South Boston. Bulger, along with his gang of ne’er-do-wells, spend their time on small time crimes and vending machines until FBI agent John Connolly, played by Joel Edgerton, makes a deal with the crime lord that makes him an FBI informant if Bulger delivers another mob family. This unholy union, combined with personal loses in Whitey’s life, unleash one of America’s most notorious gangers on a rampage of murder, drugs and violence that can be hard for the audiences to turn away from.
Depp is by far the highlight of Black Mass. His performance as Bulger is gripping as you cannot tell if he is going to let bygones be bygones or if he is going to unleash his murderous rage on an unsuspecting member of his crew. Depp is aided by the character’s look as well as he is (nearly) transformed with chilling blue contacts, rotting teeth, and a wicked balding head. There are moments where the makeup does not hold up but for most of the movie you are convinced you are actually watching this monster pillage through Boston. All of his evil efforts culminate in a scene in which Bulger is sitting down with his confidants and FBI liaisons and interrogates an agent on what he made his steak with. What follows is a chilling scene with Depp at his absolute best.
Unfortunately though, past Depp’s best performance since Sweeny Todd, Black Mass isn’t all that engrossing. The script is not particularly strong, as it contains a lot of clichés that we have already seen other gangster movies do better and more convincingly. It is a shame that director Scott Cooper and writers Mark Mallouk and Jez Butterworth could not utilize a star studded cast, boasting Depp, Kevin Bacon, and Benedict Cumberbatch, to a better effect, making the movie feel like a missed opportunity.
The one actor that gets plenty of screen time is Edgerton’s Connolly, which in-lies the biggest problem of the film in my opinion. The character of FBI Agent/Southie good ole boy John Connolly is supposed to come off as Matt Damon’s Colin Sullivan in (the far superior) The Departed, in that it is a sneaky rat that you know is bad but you still care about what happens to him. Instead, Edgerton is borderline annoying and not particularly bright. Almost any time he is on screen (which is the majority of the movie it feels like); he is talking about Whitey or how he is so loyal because he is from South Boston. I get it, you are extremely loyal to Whitey because he looked out for you as a kid, but we don’t need to hear about it every time you are on camera.
Also, he is not very sneaky in aid of Bulger, as he continuously asks blatant questions about who screwed over Whitey, or how he handles criminals that crossed his favorite gangster. All I could think about was how much I would rather have Depp back on the screen, wishing I could see him take over Boston rather than just hearing about it from his goon in the Bureau. It is a confusing direction to give a side character as much screen time as the headliner, and one that ultimately hurts the overall film.
Rereading this, I have come off a little harsh on Black Mass. Overall, it has a fine story that will keep you interested for its two hour run time. While there is not a lot to work with, actors like Benedict Cumberbatch make the most of what they have and turn in solid performances, while Depp absolutely steals the show. In the current dry spell of movies to go see in the theater, Black Mass is entertaining enough to merit a recommendation even with all its problems. If you like gangster movies or want to see Johnny Depp in prime award season form, go see this movie.
