There is undoubtedly an intriguing story to be told here, but Bulger's just doesn't translate to narrative film that well, despite excellent performances and some great individual scenes.
Johnny Depp delivers something of a return to form as Bulger. The character actor is still masked by gobs of makeup, but it's great to see Depp in a more complex role after a string of stinkers like Mortdecai and Transcendence.
Though Depp is the highlight, the ensemble cast is wonderful as well. Joel Edgerton plays John Connolly, Bulger's childhood friend and the FBI agent responsible for his protection. Benedict Cumberbatch tries on a Boston accent to somewhat inconsistent avail as Senator Bill Bulger, Whitey's brother and, at one time, one of the most powerful men in Massachusetts. Kevin Bacon makes a strong turn as Charles McGuire, the head of the local FBI office in Boston. Dakota Johnson, Jesse Plemons, Peter Sarsgaard and Corey Stoll round out the roster.
There are several very well-crafted scenes peppered throughout this film that thrive on the strength of the acting. Many scenes show people gathered for meals, and just about all of them are brilliant. One that was featured in the trailers shows Bulger teaching his son that it's ok to hurt someone if nobody is around to see it. Much later, Bulger questions FBI agent Morris (David Harbour) about the secret family recipe to his steak marinade. This scene in particular reminded me of the intense "Who's f**kin' funny, Henry? Am I funny? Do I amuse you?" scene with Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta in Goodfellas. Depp delivers the nastiness, the intimidation and, in the end, lets the air out by revealing that he's joking around, exactly like Tommy does in Goodfellas. At the same dinner party, Whitey finds Connolly's wife in her bedroom and invites her to join them. She feigns a sickness and refuses, but Whitey creepily caresses her face and neck, feeling for any symptoms of ailment. Once he detects that she's lying to him, you can just feel Bulger's sliminess oozing through the camera.
Despite these wonderful moments, the film is just chock full of shitty characters. That is, they're all terrible people. The most engrossing stories have characters for the audience to relate to, but Bulger's story seems to have nobody like that. Bulger himself has zero redeeming qualities as a human being. He's a detestable monster from beginning to end. The rest of the people in Bulger's life are either in on his racket and therefore reprehensible individuals themselves, or they're people in positions of power who squander it by protecting the bad guys on the street. Everybody is essentially a villain, and it's not that they're uninteresting figures. It's that the characters, and thus the film itself, lack an emotional center for the audience to invest in.
Scott Cooper's direction is just passable, and Masanobu Takayanagi's cold, gritty cinematography would be great if it didn't look like every other gangster movie that's come out in the past 10-15 years.
Black Mass comes recommended only if you're a fan of Depp, even though this probably won't be his Oscar year. Gangster movie aficionados have seen this one countless times before.
PROS:
-Wonderful ensemble cast
-Teriffic individual scenes
CONS:
-Characters and story lack a relatable emotional center
-Uninspired cinematography
-Mediocre directing
-Low rewatchability factor
C+
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