Yes, Johnny Depp redeemed himself! After the terrible Mortdecai (previously reviewed on the blog), Johnny Depp has a much better movie being released this month. Not only is Black Mass better in general, but also his performance is far superior from his previous one.

Based on true events, the film tells the story of James “Whitey” Bulger (Johnny Depp), the most violent gangster in the history of South Boston. The movie focuses on the part of his life when he makes an “alliance” with John Connolly (Joel Edgerton), an FBI agent with whom he grew up in Boston and is now in the position to help him. Moreover, Whitey’s brother (Benedict Cumberbatch) happens to be the state’s senator, which can have consequences to both of them.

Johnny Depp is almost unrecognizable behind those – extremely – blue eyes, blond hair and heavy make up. His voice is also different, with an appropriate threatening tone. Joel Edgerton also does a great job, since he has a tricky role and is able to capture the subtleness of his character. The cast is actually the best part of the film and I even think Dakota Johnson gave a good performance as Whitey’s wife. I was really interesting to see Siena Miller’s performance in the movie, but all of her scenes were cut from the final version due to “narrative choices”.

The movie itself is just okay. It’s a mafia story, so there is a lot of violence, often out of the blue. I have to confess that I looked at my watch a couple of times during it, especially at the middle. All in all, it’s an interesting film to learn about the life of this man and to see great performances.

Related posts:

Review: Mortdecai (2015) Review: Max (2015) Review: The age of Adaline (2015) Review: Magic Mike XXL (2015)

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