'Black Mass' is based on real events and individuals. James 'Whitey' Bulger (Johnny Depp) is a Boston gangster who turned FBI informant in the 1970s at the urging of childhood neighbourhood friend John Connolly (Joel Egerton) ostensibly to take down an even bigger Mafia gangster.
A very heavily made up Depp and Edgerton - an Aussie who seems to be in every second USA film under release nowadays; good for him - head a talented cast who certainly deliver the acting goods. The film is very interesting visually. It may not be the most violent film I have seen but it comes close to having the most number of violent scenes I can recall. Unfortunately these scenes come along like peak hour trains, so frequent in number that the rhythm of the film is quite predictable. There are also many, many characters in the story and often I had little idea of who some of them were.
An uneven film with some very good elements but unsatisfying in other respects. It is a bit like 'The Godfather' minus the touchy feely family and meal time moments.
(POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT: There are no heroes, no one to cheer for in this male-oriented film. Pretty well every character is unlikeable.)
★★★
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