Movie Review: Black Mass
Sep. 18th, 2015 12:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowfireflameI just saw the movie Black Mass, starring Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, and Benedict Cumberbatch, all of whom were excellent. The movie doesn’t cover much new ground but really showcases Johnny Depp’s amazing transformative abilities and star power; he has so much charisma that it was hard to take my eyes off him.
This was not your typical gangster movie but rather a relentlessly dark psychological portrait of James “Whitey” Bulger, a notorious South Boston criminal, and the way he successfully manipulates the FBI for years starting in 1975. Johnny Depp looks amazingly different (as always with Mr. Chameleon!), with the balding hair and these ridiculous light-blue contacts, and his looks really accentuate his ice-cold demeanor, which gets colder and more murderous as the movie goes on. But for all that I knew his character is evil, I really couldn’t help but be fascinated by him. The tension in some scenes is just off the charts because you never know if or when he will turn the tables on another character, and the stakes are so high. It reminded me more of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy than Goodfellas.
Benedict has a small but powerful role as Whitey’s younger brother, state senator Billy Bulger. While his character is quite subtle and understated with his JFK-like Bostonian 1970s accent, I liked the small moments of clever wickedness that shone through, where you can see some similarities between the brothers. It was intriguing watching how Benedict’s character manages to deliberately steer his life around having an older brother who’s quite literally a murdering psychopath kingpin. I'd have loved to see a movie just about the brothers' complex relationship. Benedict’s last scene with Joel Edgerton was one where the sparks really flew and you could see his quiet menace.
All in all: definitely recommended!
More reviews of BC's films here. :)
This was not your typical gangster movie but rather a relentlessly dark psychological portrait of James “Whitey” Bulger, a notorious South Boston criminal, and the way he successfully manipulates the FBI for years starting in 1975. Johnny Depp looks amazingly different (as always with Mr. Chameleon!), with the balding hair and these ridiculous light-blue contacts, and his looks really accentuate his ice-cold demeanor, which gets colder and more murderous as the movie goes on. But for all that I knew his character is evil, I really couldn’t help but be fascinated by him. The tension in some scenes is just off the charts because you never know if or when he will turn the tables on another character, and the stakes are so high. It reminded me more of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy than Goodfellas.
Benedict has a small but powerful role as Whitey’s younger brother, state senator Billy Bulger. While his character is quite subtle and understated with his JFK-like Bostonian 1970s accent, I liked the small moments of clever wickedness that shone through, where you can see some similarities between the brothers. It was intriguing watching how Benedict’s character manages to deliberately steer his life around having an older brother who’s quite literally a murdering psychopath kingpin. I'd have loved to see a movie just about the brothers' complex relationship. Benedict’s last scene with Joel Edgerton was one where the sparks really flew and you could see his quiet menace.
All in all: definitely recommended!
More reviews of BC's films here. :)
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Date: 2015-09-18 04:23 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2015-10-13 02:48 am (UTC)Yes to Depp, and I agree it wasn't "typical" (or rather since I don't see many gangster movies, was not what I expected it to be). I must admit I was intrigued by the whole having a psychopathic brother thing - for so many reasons, lol - but while I thought they were quite good individually, they never seemed to quite click as brothers for me. I mean, all the emotions seemed right, but maybe it was just physically, or *something*. I couldn't quite buy it. Not sure that could have been helped though!
I love your reviews - always so reliable ;)
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