Showing posts with label depp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label depp. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Black Mass


Direction: Scott Cooper; Cast: Johnny Depp, Joel  Edgerton, Rory Cochrane, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jesse Plemons, W. Earl Brown, Kevin Bacon, Peter Sarsgaard, Dakota Johnson; Story:  Based on the novel with the same title by Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neill; Screenplay: Jez Butterworth, Mark Mallouk; Cinematography: Masanobu Takayanagi; Editing: David Rosenbloom; Music: Junkie XL; Producers: Scott Cooper, John Lesher, Patrick McCormick; Genre: Bio, Crime;  Location: Boston; Distributor: Warner Bros Pictures  Running Time: 149 minutes
Technical assessment: 3.5 
Moral Assessment: 2.5
CINEMA rating:  V18  
MTRCB: R16
In 1975, FBI agent John Connolly (Edgerton) is assigned in the same area in South Boston where Jimmy “Whitey” Bulger (Depp) is slowly gaining control over the organized crime syndicate. Apparently, the two were childhood friends, together with Jimmy’s senator brother, Billy.  A welcome opportunity to eradicate Whitey Bulger’s remaining challenger, the Mafia Angiulo Brothers, comes when Connolly offers Bulger to be an FBI informant. Despite opposition from their colleagues, Bulger and Connolly proceed in the dubious relationship. By 1981, Bulger has succeeded in becoming the kingpin of South Boston with stakes in drugs, gambling and arms dealing while Connolly covers for the seeming lack of valuable information from Bulger. But before Connolly’s superior (Bacon) can terminate the arrangement, the FBI is able to gather incriminating conversation from the wire taps of the Angiulos. This leads to Connolly and Bulger developing a closer relationship and alarming murder of people who either oppose or compromise Bulger’s status. Bulger’s fall begins when the new District Attorney Fred Wyshak (Stoll) proves to be adamant in finding out why Bulger has remained free despite evidences of his crimes. 
If there’s one reason to watch Black Mass, it has to be the compelling performance of Depp. He attacks his role with wit and depth that it is almost hard to believe this is the same actor behind Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Jack Sparrow. Coupled with dramatic prosthetics, Depp’s Bulger becomes the menacingly cold and unrepentant criminal audiences love to hate. The aesthetics and technicalities of the shots and framings feel gritty and raw, bringing a documentary-like texture to the film. Junkie XL’s score engages the moment without overselling. Another triumphant area is the production and set design which effortlessly transports us in the 70s and 80s.  Black Mass is a work of art and a good material for academic discussion. 
When Bulger chides his son Douglas about hitting his classmate, he reasons that his mistake was hitting while people were looking. Thus, little Douglas learns that violence and aggression are okay as long as they are done when people do not see. This seems to be the guiding principle of Bulger because we see how charming he was with the old lady he met in the streets of Boston, how much of a loving son and brother he is and how much he adores his son. In public, he refuses to be handed over dirty money and murders people silently until his image is compromised. Bulger believes violence is necessary and warranted as long as it is not done in public (especially by him).  On the other hand, we see how obsession with a goal sometimes clouds our judgment and challenges our ethics. When Connolly turns a blind eye to the criminal activities of Bulger so he can catch the Angiulos at first and prove the faultlessness of his decision later, he unwittingly creates his own Frankenstein which ultimately leads to the breakup of his marriage and the downfall of his career. Although the movie shows that crime does not pay as Bulger and his cohorts are ultimately incarcerated, the entire two hours are peppered with “F” words and splattering body parts. It is advisable that only older and more mature audiences watch the movie.