Film Review: Johnny Depp is Ghoulish in Mob Saga ‘Black Mass’

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Average: 5 (1 vote)

CHICAGO – “Black Mass” is a well crafted, if somewhat conventional crime tale. It won’t win any awards, but it’s entertaining enough. The story of real life Boston crime boss “Whitey” Bulger has no shortage of juicy details, and while the saga of this mob boss slash FBI turncoat falls short of greatness, Johnny Depp turns him into an otherworldly presence.

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 4.0/5.0
Rating: 4.0/5.0

With slicked back thinning hair, speckled teeth, skin that looks like it was prepped by a mortuary, and blue contact lenses, Depp goes all out and plays Bulger as a black hearted ghoul. It’s not entirely possible to forget it’s Johnny Depp up there on screen, but he gives one of his better performances in recent years.

Joel Edgerton’s role isn’t as flashy as Depp’s, but he’s just as important. He plays an FBI agent who grew up a few doors down from the Bulger family. And he’s the one who convinces Bulger to turn state’s evidence to help the feds take down a common enemy, the Italian mob. Edgerton is a man caught in his own moral quicksand. He values loyalty, but he also wants to be a big shot and make a name for himself. And those two values aren’t always in harmony.

”Black Mass” opens everywhere on September 18th. Featuring Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, Kevin Bacon, Corey Stoll, Adam Scott, Peter Saarsgard and Benedict Cumberbatch,. Screenplay adapted by Mark Mallouk and Jez Butterworth. Directed by Scott Cooper. Rated “R”

StarContinue reading for Spike Walter’s full review of “Black Mass.”

Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp as Whitey Bulger in ‘Black Mass’
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

StarContinue reading for Spike Walter’s full review of “Black Mass.”

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