12/29/2023 0 Comments The black masses game engine![]() And, although The Departed was adapted from the Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs, the lead villain (played by Jack Nicholson) was loosely based on Bulger. The setting is sufficiently different from New York to give these films a unique flavor. ![]() This results in a mutually beneficial relationship that sours when Whitey becomes the biggest boss in all of Boston and openly defies law enforcement with brazen criminal acts.Īspects of Black Mass echo other Boston-based crime films, most notably The Departed. A childhood friend of Whitey's younger brother (and current political heavyweight) Bill (Benedict Cumberbatch), John reaches out to the gangster with a deal: if Whitey will provide the FBI with actionable intelligence that leads to the decimation of the Mafia, the FBI will allow Whitey to act unmolested. Enter FBI Golden Boy John Connolly (Joel Edgerton), a South Boston native who has come home to spearhead a task force assigned with cleaning up the city. His hair-trigger temper and violent inclinations get him in trouble with the larger, more dangerous Italian mob, and he ends up being targeted by the Mafia for elimination. Framed a series of extended chronological flashbacks, the movie introduces us to the lead character when he's the leader of a two-bit South Boston Irish criminal gang in 1975. As a straightforward bio-pic, Black Mass works. To the extent that Scott Cooper's goal is to relate the events of Whitey Bulger's life between 19, he succeeds. We catch glimpses of complex, conflicted relationships but they are never allowed to germinate beyond the basic needs of the story. There's a sense that too much of Bulger's life has been compacted into an easily digestible two hours, disallowing the kind of character development that would have made Black Mass a richer, more disturbing experience. There are some tremendous scenes but the narrative as a whole feels more like a chronology of dastardly dealings than the epic tale of a criminal's rise and fall. Bulger is by far the most interesting thing about Black Mass and Depp's acting is what gives Bulger his screen presence and intensity.Īs a dramatic thriller, Black Mass has trouble getting into low orbit. By inhabiting the character rather than merely playing him, Depp deepens an otherwise generic gangster story that often feels familiar (a little like Scorsese-lite). The actor's transformative portrayal of Whitey Bulger reminds us that Depp, when motivated, can do impressive work. For Black Mass, Johnny Depp has dusted off his A-game, which has lain dormant for far too long.
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