BLACK MASS

GRADE: A
Starring Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dakota Johnson, Kevin Bacon
Screenplay by Mark Allouk and Jez Butterworth
Based on the book by Dick Lehr and Gerald O'Neill
Directed by Scott Copper
Rated R (brutal violence, language throguhout, some sexual reference and brief drug use)
Reviewed by Patrick Gibbs.

To say that Black Mass features Johnny Depp's most compelling performance in years is a little like saying "this is Shelley Winters at her absolute sexiest." In truth, Depp (whose worked I've enjoyed off and on since the '80's) hasn't given a performance that didn't earn my utter contempt since Public Enemies, with the possiblet exception of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, simply because he had an excuse for playing that character as a half baked Jack Sparrow, as opposed to The Lone Ranger or Into The Woods, where he played Tonto and the Big Bad Wolf as a half baked Jack Sparrow. I submit that with the exception of Transcendence and The Tourist, in which he gave literally no sign of having ever acted in front of a camera in his life, Depp has just been recycling the beloved pirate to such a ridiculous extent for so long that he's become a professional Johnny Depp impersonator, and not even a particularly good one.

But with his mesmerizing and and at times terrifying portrayal of real life crime lord James "Whitey" Bulger, who ranked below only Osama Bin Laden on the F.B.I.'s most wanted list for most of the last decade, Johnny may not have the luck of the Irish at the box office, but he has managed to restore his credibility with even his most vehement detractors (and I count myself among them.). This isn't just the best performance he has given since Finding Neverland, it's a major career highlight, and it raises him to a whole new level as an actor. However, as the Hollywood press justifiably praises Johnny, they need to remember to give some of the credit to director Scott Cooper, who not only had the audacity to actually direct the self indulgent super star, but knew exactly how to use one of the actor's major weak points to his favor, namely his inability to invite us in to experience the movie from his point of view, as a protagonist generally needs to do. Whitey Bulger is not the protagonist of this story: he is an enigmatic figure that looms over the events of the film and every character in it, but is never meant to be psychologically or emotionally reachable. We aren't supposed to get what Bulger is thinking and feeling, and that was a brilliant choice executed with great sublety by both Depp and Cooper. Getting Depp to not only command the screen but do it without ever pulling focus is a masterful achievenent, and the only logical explanation is a perfectly communicated shared vision and mutual respect.

The story of Bulger's criminal career and his alliance with the Fedreal Bureau of Investigation, which allowed him to effectively allowed him to become a comic book supervillain while remaining not only untouched by law enforcement but even assisted by it in exchange for what turned out to be very little intel of value, is told from the point of view of those who were manipulated by him, covered for him or even carried out his most heinous orders. The narrative structure, which begins with thug Kevin Weeks (Jesse Plemmons) giving his testimony and continues as multiple members of Bulger's inner circle spilled everything in order plea bargain, is part Citizen Kane and part The Usual Suspects.

The closest thing to a true protagonist John

Callahan (Edgerton), the F.B.I. agent and childhood friend of both James Bulger and his younger brother Billy (Cumberbatch) who set up the alliance, using it to gain fame and power as the man who took down the Italian Mafia while simultaneously protecting Bulger from investigation and prosecution. Billy Bulger has become a rising star in city government, and tries to maintain a balance between being an outstanding public servant and ignoring the fact that his big brother Jimmy is becoming an outstanding public enemy. The younger Bulger's constant effort to remain blissfully ignorant is nor an easy feat, and obviously eventually proved impossible.

The cast is excellent all around, with Cumberbatch completing shedding his Sherlock shell, Kevin Bacon giving the kind of powerful yet understated and unsung Captain of the supporing ensemble performance that only he can give (including sustaining a perfect South Boston accent that is even more impressive than his German in the opening of X-Men: First Class.). No other actor has made such a memorable and distinguished career out of being the thankless glue that holds things together when he could be opting to play leads in lesser films, and that is why this guy has justifiably inspired his own parlor game sensation. As Karl Malone once said of Michael Jordan, "What the man haven't do?"

But the absolute standout is Edgerton, perhaps even surpassing Depp. One of Hollywood's best and brightest up and coming stars, Edgerton remains playing second string most of the time because he is such a dedicated "assistant storyteller," to reference a famous Harrison Ford quote, that he doesn't have time to try to be the center of attention. While it's a shame that he has yet to recieve the recognition he deserves, part of me hopes he never fully does, lest he go the way of Kevin Spacey and become to big a star to allowed to play the kind of performance that makes you forget you're watching an actor and not the actual character in the flesh. Edgerton is ably supported by David Harbour, who is the same type of actor, and the pairing of the two is a triumph for truth in acting.

This is most definitely for the Godfather crowd, and you need to be willing to withstand brutal (though never gratuitous) violence, the dropping of enough F-bombs to level more cities than any MARVEL or DC superhero, and frequent usage of what is largely ignored for it's status as the only "you can't say that" epithet that has consistently beaten out said F-word I'm terms of being allowed only in R-Rated films (it rhymes with "sockplucker."). It's certainly no Wolf of Wall Street, but it's not for the squeamish.

If the movie has a major flaw, it's in its pacing, but a true life crime story simply can't have the tightness of a made up thriller like The Departed. But what is does have is a haunting, melancholy truth that is genuinely haunting. You may not have known who Jimmy Bulger was before seeing this film, but if you do see it, you will never forget him. And you're not likely to look at Johnny Depp exactly the same way for a while. While Bulger remains an enigma, at a distance from everyone, we do see glimmers of a human being in there, and even a caring son, brother and father, and that is what makes this figure truly disturbing.