BLACK MASS SYNOPSIS:

The true story of Whitey Bulger, the brother of a state senator and the most infamous violent criminal in the history of South Boston, who became an FBI informant to take down a Mafia family invading his turf.​​​

Based on the true story of one of the most notorious gangsters in U.S. history.

Some may not remember but for nearly three decades Johnny Depp was a household name for all the right reasons starring in some of the best films ever created such as A Nightmare on Elm Street, Edward Scissorhands, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl and the list goes on and on. Before the trial that swayed the public opinion in numerous ways about the man himself in 2022 (with allegations beginning in 2016), Black Mass was one of Depp’s final hurrahs in movie stardom before everything came crashing down around him. 

Depp’s second time playing a massive criminal at large from the real world, his first being from the 2009 Public Enemies where he played John Dillinger and in 2015's Black Mass he relocates that ideology to a face for of prosthetics to become Irish mobster “Whitey” Bulger. As John Powers from Vogue is quoted, “Depp vanishes into his role. He’s genuinely scary” and as someone who remembers vividly a scene in a parking lot, I tend to agree. When you see films that focus on true mafia, mobsters or the likes, you can run into some underwhelming depictions such as 2018’s Gotti, but Black Mass manages to capture the essence of Bulger while providing a terrific film in the process. 

Supported by a well established cast that helps guide the story through its occasional dramatic missteps: Benedict Cumberbatch, Dakota Johnson, Joel Edgerton, Kevin Bacon and so many other familiar faces come into contact with the massively intimidating, “Whitey” Bulger as they work toward a common goal of eliminating the Italian mob. 

The film was directed by Scott Cooper who has a gritty aesthetic to his style of filmmaking that heavily focuses on dramatic storytelling such as in his debut Crazy Heart, or films like Out of the Furnace, The Pale Blue Eye and Hostiles that flew well under the radar. Black Mass, apart from Crazy Heart, may be his most remembered film for his ability to truly bring out a performance from his leads (Jeff Bridges to Johnny Depp to Christian Bale). 

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SPECIAL FEATURES - BLACK MASS

• The Manhunt for Whitey Bulger (61:38)

• Black Mass: Deepest Cover, Darkest Crime (23:00)

• Johnny Depp: Becoming Whitey Bulger (12:24)