Black Mass - Film Review - Vijay Ramalingam

Black Mass – Movie review

An aptly titled film that gives a hint early on about the nature of the main plot and the protagonist, Black Mass is a sober and gripping crime drama based on real life Irish-American mobster James ‘Whitey’ Bulger and his ’unholy alliance’– as called by the makers themselves, between Bulger and FBI. The film is directed by Scott Cooper and is based on the 2001 book ‘Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy Alliance between the FBI and the Irish Mob’ by Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill.

The film starts with the close-up of a tape recorder, recording the confessions of Kevin weeks, a former associate of Bulger to an FBI agent, thus taking us straight to the plot with no frills or dramatic opening scenes whatsoever. We hear the story of Bulger from a series of confessions from most of his erstwhile close associates, beginning with Weeks telling his first encounter with the mobster and his inclusion in to Bulger’s Winter Hill gang. The early accounts establish a sense of fear and evilness about Bulger, though there is also the slight hint that he is loved by many among the Irish community in South Boston. During his earlier days, in order to sustain his infamous ‘Winter Hill’ gang, Bulger is shown to be involved in various racketeering activities like loan sharking and narcotics distribution. Bulger’s brother William ‘Billy’ Bulger, a Boston senator is played by a much restrained Benedict Cumberbatch; initially one cannot help but wonder why such a hugely popular star of his caliber might consider playing this role of not much importance. But as the story moves forward, one does realize that Cumberbatch with his solid and sober performance has done great justice to this role. Apart from James Bulger, the other pivotal character is the FBI agent John Connolly played by a vivacious and animated Joel Edgerton. Connolly is a childhood friend of the Bulger brothers: whitey and Billy and after joining the FBI, he returns to his neighborhood and becomes central to the plot. He is responsible for the nexus between Bulger and FBI, with the original aim of bringing down the Anguilo brothers crime family who are the main rival of the winter hill gang and whose boss is the arch-enemy of Bulger. But how Bulger uses the FBI to expand and consolidate his criminal network and control over South Boston, forms the rest of the plot. Edgerton portrays Connolly with such panache that he comes off as a natural for this role. Another refreshing departure from other popular Hollywood films of this genre is the limited depiction of Anguilo brothers as silhouettes, grainy pictures and back shots of its leaders, without leading us in to detailed sub plots.  

Cinematography by Masanobu Takayanagi is effective in the story telling and with its close-ups and tightly framed shots sets the mood and tonality for the grave premise of the film. Casting deserves praise, with the choice of actors creating a solid foundation for this engaging film. Thus the supporting cast with Rory Cochrane playing Bulger’s right hand man, Stephen Flemmi; Kevin Bacon’s FBI boss Charles McGuire; Erica McDermott playing Bulger’s wife Mary and most notably, Julianne Nicholson as Connolly’s wife Marianne lend credible support and their weight to the film. Peter Sarsgaard is impressive as the nervous, drug addicted killer Brian Halloran in a brief but memorable role. This review would be absolutely pointless without mentioning Johnny Depp’s performance as James Bulger. Depp carries the entire weight of the film on his shoulders with one of his career best performances till date. He drives home the inherent evil of Bulger with his cold and underplayed portrayal and also fits the role to a T with his bald looks and menacing, large blue eyes (a fantastic work in makeup and prosthetics). I would recommend this film to you if you are a hard-core movie buff and a fan of gangster-mafia stories, but would not if you are looking for a pleasant Saturday night movie watching experience especially with family and children as the film is a bit excessive on violence and abusive language.

Vijay Ramalingam