Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Latest
    • Thank You
    • 4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)
    • 3999. The Pianist (2002)
    • 3998. Philadelphia (1993)
    • 3997. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
    • 3996. The Green Mile (1999)
    • 3995. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
    • 3994. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Home
    • Blog
      • All Posts
      • Best Of The Year
        • Best Of 2015
        • Best Of 2016
        • Best Of 2017
        • Best Of 2018
        • Best Of 2019
        • Best Of 2020
        • Best Of 2021
        • Best Of 2022
      • The Decade In Review
      • Box Office Analysis
      • James Bond
      • Oscars
      • RANKED
      • Star Wars
      • The Big Questions
      • Top 10
      • World Cinema
    • Ratings
      • Top 250
      • Top 100 Foreign Films
      • Bottom 50
      • 0 – 1.9
      • 2 – 3.9
      • 4 – 5.9
      • 6 – 7.9
      • 8 – 10
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Anthology
      • Animation
      • Christmas
      • Comedy
      • Crime
      • Documentary
      • Drama
      • Fantasy
      • Film-Noir
      • History
      • Horror
      • Kids’
      • Musical
      • Psychological
      • Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Short
      • Silent
      • Sport
      • Superhero
      • Survival
      • Thriller
      • Western
    • Release Year
      • 2020s
      • 2010s
      • 2000s
      • 1990s
      • 1980s
      • 1970s
      • 1960s
      • 1950s
      • 1940s
      • 1930s
      • 1920s
    • Country
      • Afghanistan
      • Argentina
      • Australia
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Brazil
      • Cambodia
      • Canada
      • Chile
      • China
      • Colombia
      • Costa Rica
      • Czechoslovakia
      • Czech Republic
      • Denmark
      • East Timor
      • Faroe Islands
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Georgia
      • Greece
      • Hong Kong
      • Hungary
      • Iceland
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Iran
      • Iraq
      • Ireland
      • Israel
      • Italy
      • Japan
      • Latvia
      • Lebanon
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Mexico
      • New Zealand
      • Nigeria
      • North Korea
      • Norway
      • Paraguay
      • Peru
      • Philippines
      • Poland
      • Romania
      • Russia
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Singapore
      • South Korea
      • South Africa
      • Soviet Union
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • Syria
      • Taiwan
      • Thailand
      • Turkey
      • Uganda
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
      • Uruguay
      • Vietnam
      • Zambia
    • About
    The Mad Movie Man
    You are at:Home»Review»1151. Black Mass (2015)

    1151. Black Mass (2015)

    0
    By The Mad Movie Man on November 14, 2015 120-129 mins, 2015, 6 - 7.9, Crime, Drama, History, Movies Of 2015, Nov 15, Review, United States
    7.1 Just misses the mark
    • Acting 7.4
    • Directing 7.0
    • Story 7.0
    • User Ratings (0 Votes) 0

    Starring: Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch

    Director: Scott Cooper

    Running Time: 122 mins


    Black Mass is an American film about the life of notorious Boston mobster James ‘Whitey’ Bulger, and his relationship with an FBI agent as he provided details to the bureau in order to prevent all-out gang warfare following the Italian mafia’s invasion of his territory.

    This is the mother of all wannabe gangster movies. It’s got all the hallmarks of a mob classic, as well as an astonishing central performance by Johnny Depp, but it falls short of providing a truly enthralling story due to a poor first act, two-dimensional characters and an often hugely convoluted plot.

    Before we get into that though, let’s look at the performance given by Johnny Depp in this film, as mobster Whitey Bulger. Put simply, he is stunning. Depp not only gives a completely transformative and unrecognisable performance like the one we saw from Steve Carell in Foxcatcher, but he commands the screen at every moment for the entire duration.

    He portrays Bulger in such a menacing way, striking fear into your heart every time he appears, but he also presents the man as a deeper enigma, someone who is troubled beyond his simple lust for power and territory, and that makes him also fascinating to watch. I think this is a performance that merits recognition from the Oscars come January and February, so watch this space.

    The rest of the film, however, doesn’t quite match Depp’s performance. Most disappointingly, the first act is very poor. It’s hard to really get into the story for the best part of an hour here because, in the first act, there are so many separate stories happening all over the place, it’s hard to concentrate.

    You’ve got Bulger, his wife, the FBI, his brother, his cronies and all sorts that appear here and there in a hugely convoluted opening period, and with so many different characters all packed into such a short space of time, it’s inevitable that they’re not developed to the full extent that you’d like, so that makes it even harder to get into the film, because you’ve got a plethora of really plain characters that don’t seem to hold any significance in the plot.

    However, the film does redeem itself come the second act. Firstly, as the movie progresses, you get the clear impression that it’s intending to pay tribute to classic mobster movies, including a ton of Scorsese techniques that make this feel like a Goodfellas tribute band, as well as a clear Godfather-esque closing sequence. On the whole, however, using that inspiration works a treat, and adds a little bit more style and intrigue to the film that was missing in the opening stages.

    What’s more is that the film actually slows down a bit in the second act. You get more focus on Bulger and Joel Edgerton’s character, the FBI officer in cahoots with him, and that provides for some deeper and more substantial storytelling that is a whole lot more interesting to watch, and manages to turn this film back into an intriguing and often tense crime drama like it clearly wants to be, and that’s why I’ll give Black Mass a 7.1.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Website
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    The Mad Movie Man, AKA Anthony Cullen, writes articles and reviews about movies and the world of cinema. From January 1st, 2013 to December 31st, 2022, he watched and reviewed a movie every day. This is the blog dedicated to the project: www.madmovieman.com

    Related Posts

    8.2

    4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

    7.8

    3999. The Pianist (2002)

    8.2

    3998. Philadelphia (1993)

    Follow Me Online!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Tumblr
    New Releases
    8.2
    December 25, 2022

    3994. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

    5.6
    December 10, 2022

    3969. Falling For Christmas (2022)

    6.9
    December 4, 2022

    3956. The People We Hate At The Wedding (2022)

    5.4
    December 3, 2022

    3954. Disenchanted (2022)

    7.4
    December 3, 2022

    3953. Meet Cute (2022)

    7.6
    November 23, 2022

    3934. Do Revenge (2022)

    7.0
    November 18, 2022

    3929. The Wonder (2022)

    6.7
    November 13, 2022

    3924. See How They Run (2022)

    Recommended Movies
    8.0
    Review
    August 6, 20150

    1049. The Magdalene Sisters (2002)

    8.0
    Review
    February 23, 20160

    1264. Nights Of Cabiria (1957)

    8.0
    Review
    July 1, 20210

    3397. The Family Fang (2017)

    8.5
    Review
    August 28, 20150

    1071. Annie Hall (1977)

    8.8
    Review
    October 23, 20170

    1930. Gerald’s Game (2017)

    Popular Posts
    December 31, 2022

    Thank You

    8.2
    December 31, 2022

    4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

    7.8
    December 30, 2022

    3999. The Pianist (2002)

    8.2
    December 29, 2022

    3998. Philadelphia (1993)

    7.5
    December 28, 2022

    3997. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)

    9.1
    December 27, 2022

    3996. The Green Mile (1999)

    7.6
    December 26, 2022

    3995. Doctor Zhivago (1965)

    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.