Director: Scott Cooper Starring: Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Kevin Bacon, Dakota Johnson, Jesse Plemons, Peter Sarsgaard, Corey Stoll Writers: Mark Mallouk, Jez Butterworth | 3.5/5 Black Mass What a cause to celebrate when the great Johnny Depp puts a hold on Disney and turns in the kind of performance that made him a rock star actor in the first place. I say this without a hint of sarcasm or cynicism; Depp was one of my first Hollywood loves. My first venture into movie obsession was tasking myself with the collection of every one of his movies - I succeeded, priding myself for having copies of Dead Man and Cry-Baby. With all that said, Black Mass, the examination of Whitey Bulger’s relationship with the FBI, has everything pre-Pirates Depp fans love: unbridled dedication and a tinge of crazy. If I am slightly disappointed at anyone on the Black Mass team, it’s director Scott Cooper, who directed Crazy Heart and the underrated Out of the Furnace. At first glance, Cooper seems like the perfect choice. It was he who helped lead Jeff Bridges to his long overdue Oscar with; and with Furnace, he shined a light on the emotional motivators that lead some to crime. So after watching his latest film cling so closely to one-note characterizations and used-up Scorsese-isms, it’s hard not to feel a little disappointed. As overdue an Oscar as Depp is, I cannot see it happening here. While Black Mass makes a great number of narrative mistakes, Cooper succeeds in one key area: he foregoes the urge to make Bulger’s tale a from-birth-until-otherwise procedural or a lame anti-hero origin story. Instead, he takes the high road and focuses on the decade or so Bulger spent as a FBI informant. Protected under a shielding informant status, Bulger was able to become the most ruthless, notorious kingpin in South Boston history. All he needed was the help of one John Connolly (Joel Edgerton), a childhood friend who grew up to be an agent, to form the unholy alliance that allowed him to become the gangster we know today. |
Depp and Edgerton, who recently blew me away with his directorial debut The Gift, together infuse Black Mass with whatever electricity it does carry. While Depp’s contact-aided blank stare makes for some truly frightening intimidation scenes, its Edgerton who supplies the film with an emotional ark. Sure, Bulger’s story has its share of loss loved ones, but he pretty much remains a monster from beginning to end. Edgerton's Connolly, on the other hand, begins the film in high spirits with his wife Marianne, played by Masters of Sex and Boardwalk Empire veteran Julianne Nicholson. Watch how Edgerton subtly steers Connolly down a immoral path, led by Bulger’s cold embrace the whole way down.
While Cooper’s entire star-studded cast provides stellar work, worthy of each of their resumes, many of them inhabit one-note roles that either fizzle out or lead to dead ends. This goes for Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays Bulger’s Senator brother, to Kevin Bacon to Dakota Johnson, whose brief role as Bulger’s baby-mama gives her more meat to chew on than a whole film of Fifty Shades. There’s also Peter Sarsgaard, Adam Scott, Corey Stoll, June Temple, and Breaking Bad’s Jesse Plemons. It would have been nice to see a leaner cast with more substantial parts, but I guess the roles had to be filled by someone.
No, Cooper’s film is not the gangster epic you might like it to be, but he certainly knows what he is doing as far as technical filmmaking goes. Black Mass is as sturdily made as any studio project you will see this year, from the fabulous cinematography to the well-paced storytelling. I just cannot help wishing for a messier movie that told a more emotionally gripping, complex story.
While Cooper’s entire star-studded cast provides stellar work, worthy of each of their resumes, many of them inhabit one-note roles that either fizzle out or lead to dead ends. This goes for Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays Bulger’s Senator brother, to Kevin Bacon to Dakota Johnson, whose brief role as Bulger’s baby-mama gives her more meat to chew on than a whole film of Fifty Shades. There’s also Peter Sarsgaard, Adam Scott, Corey Stoll, June Temple, and Breaking Bad’s Jesse Plemons. It would have been nice to see a leaner cast with more substantial parts, but I guess the roles had to be filled by someone.
No, Cooper’s film is not the gangster epic you might like it to be, but he certainly knows what he is doing as far as technical filmmaking goes. Black Mass is as sturdily made as any studio project you will see this year, from the fabulous cinematography to the well-paced storytelling. I just cannot help wishing for a messier movie that told a more emotionally gripping, complex story.