Black Mass * * * *

It’s good to see Johnny Depp playing a fully rounded three dimensional character rather than those cartoonish roles he keeps taking on.  Poor chap: even on the rare occasion when he does get to play a realistic character the film is usually a dud.  

Anyway, this one puts him back on track. It’s against his typecast and demands a lot of Depp, but he takes to it with relish. It’s not just the complexity of the character but the physical changes he adopts.  Pretty boy Johnny is gone.  The ugliness of his characters soul is made manifest in his face.

Black Mass is a fine gangster film.

I love gangster films set in Boston - I'm thinking of  Mystic River, The Town and The Departed. - and this one makes full use of the landscape - the narrow streets and hilly suburbs and leaden sky.

James “Whitey” Bulger was a gangster who was raised in the hard part of Boston.  It’s tough but people know each other and look out for one another.  They also look out for the cops: considering the amount of illicit activity that goes on they have to.  
John Connolly was a childhood friend of Whitey who went away, joined the FBI and has now come back looking to enhance his reputation in the Bureau.  He wants to nail the mafia who are now moving into Boston.

If Connolly is successful it would bring benefit to “Whitey” too. With the Mafia out the way he can increase his own operations.  So a deal is struck. Whitey shops the Mafia to Connolly and in return he is left alone to pursuit his business.

Set in the 70’s and 80’s this is actually a true story with an amazing ending.  It’s a tough, tense gangster film with fine acting.  For those who like to go see Johnny Depp for his good looks they’re going to be disappointed with this one.  He’s as ugly as sin both in looks and in actions but that’s what he’s supposed to be.  He does it well.