Black Mass – Film Review by Stephen McDermott

Director: Scott Cooper
Writers: Mark Mallouk (screenplay), Jez Butterworth (screenplay)
Stars: Johnny Depp, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dakota Johnson

For a career criminal who was only recently incarcerated, the character of James ‘Whitey’ Bulger is quickly becoming part of a cinematic folklore. Following on from Jack Nicholson’s 2006 portrayal of him in The Departed – while Bulger was still on the run from the FBI –  come the gangster’s first biopic in the form of Black Mass.

One wonders about the ethics of creating such a myth around Bulger only two years after his trial for racketeering and murder in Boston over twenty years. But having proved so elusive to the authorities for as long as he did, it seems that director Scott Cooper was unwilling to take any chances.

Using Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neill’s Whitey as its guide, the film focuses on the relationship between Bulger and FBI agent John Connolly (Joel Edgerton). After being enlisted as an FBI informant in 1975, Bulger begins to go on a twenty year rampage in Boston.

The resulting film is a strongly character-driven piece that, while featuring some excellent performances, is a little light on narrative arc. Bulger’s story is never really told, getting lost in the portrayal of the Boston underworld and the various characters who surrounded him.

None of which is to say that director Cooper has done a bad job with the portrayal of Bulger’s criminal career – far from it, in fact.

In one of his best performances in years, Depp is excellent as the psychopathic Bulger. Likewise, Kevin Bacon turns in a strong shift as FBI chief Charles McGuire, while Joel Edgerton’s portrayal of the morally questionable John Connolly provides a neat contrast to the film’s gruesome mobsters.

However, it’s a shame that the script does let these characters down, with the film suffering from both underdeveloped characters and continually low stakes throughout.

Too many characters are completely one-dimensional, or – particularly on the law-abiding side of things – are used too sparingly to have any impact. Bacon has only a handful of lines, and while Fred Wyshak’s (Corey Stoll) late arrival as the agent who finally brings down Bulger is strong, his role is only really to wrap up the film’s loose narrative.

Indeed, as if this error was realised in post-production, there’s also an odd over-reliance on soundtrack, which serves to create moments of drama and where no drama or tension exists.

The whole thing is best summarised by a scene in which Bulger grills a terrified drug dealer over the latter’s suspected involvement with the FBI.

“I had no choice”, the dealer pleads as Bulger begins to threaten him. “You always had a choice”, Bulger responds. “You just happened to make the wrong one.”

It seems as though script-writers Mark Mallouk and Jez Butterworth didn’t realise their own choice. Hoping that the myth surrounding Bulger would be enough to carry a two-hour film, neither the gangster or his story are ever properly explored.

There’s a good film in here, with the action and performances enough to get Black Mass over the line. But in its failure to be driven by either character or plot, we ultimately learn that one man does not a myth make.