Black Mass

Some actors always choose the right cards, just to make sure that the audience will come back. Look at comedian legend Steve Martin, who have done so many comedies since the end of the 70´s, that he knows that this is his genre, and will always come back to make another film. He did try to do something different, with the film Novocaine, a black comedy thriller, where he got a chance to do a very different character from his previous film. The film flopped at the box office, and we can not be sure why this happened. Maybe the audience did not want to see him do something different, but i personally enjoyed the film, even though it is not the best performance from Steve Martin. Speaking of different characters, there are actors who try to do all kinds of genres and characters, and one of the most iconic actors out there who have done a lot of fantastic performances is of course Johnny Depp. I still remember him from the first A Nightmare On Elm Street, until he got his big breakthrough in Cry Baby, and became even bigger with Tim Burton´s cult film Edward Scissorhands. This was just the start for Johnny´s fantastic film career, and over many years he have given us a lot of wonderful performances. One of the film that may not been a box office hit, but was a very good thriller, is the film called Nick Of Time. A really intensive thriller with an interesting plot, where an innocent man is chosen to kill a politician, if he wants his kidnapped daughter to live. Christopher Walken, as the man behind this criminal act, is absolutely splendid in this film. So if you have not seen Nick Of Time, see if you can buy the dvd online, it is not easy to find in these days. Most people know Johnny Depp from his Captain Sparrow character in the Pirates Of The Carribean films, and its not hard to figure out why. Johnny Depp have always had a way of making characters in his own unique way, and i have a feeling he will continue to do so for many years ahead. Who can forget his crazy performance in the classic film Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas ? In recent years, we have seen Johnny try and deliver more different genre films, but for some reason he did not seem to find something very interesting to bite his teeth into. Until i saw the pictures, from his upcoming film called Black Mass, based on the true stories of mobster Whitey Bugler. I could not recognize Johnny Depp from his new look, he actually shocked me that he did such an amazing transformation. So when i saw that the premiere was coming closer to Sweden, i just had to go and see Black Mass, hoping that this would be the best performance in a very long time. Is Johnny Depp back on track with another iconic performance by this legendary actor, or did the surface look better than what the actual content gave us ?

In the year of 1975, Whitey Bugler ( Johnny Depp ), leader of the Irish- American Winter Hill Gang, controls almost all of the organized crime in South Boston, together with his right-hand-man Stephen Flemmi ( Rory Cochrane ), newcomer Kevin Weeks ( Jesse Plemons ) and his cold hearted hitman Johnny Martorano ( W. Earl Brown ). Whitey and his men only have one big enemy known in the northern part of Boston, known as Angiulo Brothers. FBI agent John Connoly ( Joel Edgerton ) is an old friend of Whitey´s brother William " Billy " Bulger, who is now the Massachusetts Senate President. John tells William that Whitey is in danger, since there is information that the Angiulo Brothers are planning to kill Whitey. He asks William to help him convince his brother to agree on helping the FBI, to make sure Whitey is protected. John eventually bring the news to Whitey himself, but Whitey does not like the idea of helping the FBI. Until he realise that his wife, Lindsey ( Dakota Johnson ) and his son Douglas ( Luke Ryan ) could be in danger. Whitey finally agree to help the FBI, after one of his gang members is found brutally murdered. Can Whitey get out of this mess, even if he is trying to make things right, or is time running out ?

Everyone, i suggest you all sit down and listen.

Forget all the films in many years that Johnny Depp gave us, Black Mass proves that Johnny is back, and holy shit......this is the best performance i have seen him do since.....Donnie Brasco. That is almost 20 years ago, and i can´t belive the joy i am feeling right now, remembering the performance that i watched in the theatre. This is the kind of performance that should be Oscar nominated, and i am hoping that he will be, because it was a long time ago he gave a performance on a level like this. Now, let´s talk about Black Mass in general. The story about mobster Whitey Bugler is both very interesting, and you do get to find out what kind of a person he was. It is not hard to understand why he was so feared by people, since everyone knew that he is not a man you want to upset. How he managed to become the biggest leader of almost all organized crime within South Boston. You also see how he tried to be a father, using his own methods to make sure his son Douglas knows what life is all about. Another really amazing performance in this film, is made by british actor Benedict Cumberbatch as the Massachusetts State Senate President William " Billy " Bulger. I would say that Benedict Cumberbatch is actually one of my favourite actors of all time, since he is simply amazing in many films, and as Sherlock Holmes of course. His character feels both realistic and interesting, as he is in a very vulnerable situation, being the brother to Whitley Bugler, as he tries to stay clean as the Massachusetts State President. I would also like to say that Kevin Bacon is also really good as FBI boss Charles McGuire. When we get to hear about FBI, trying to get Whitey to cooperate with them, as information is out that Angiulo Brothers wants Whitey dead, things become really interesting in the film. There are some brutal scenes here, but that is something inportant in this story, to make it feel like a portrait of Whitey Bugler. Director Scott Cooper, directed the amazingly good drama film Crazy Heart, with the excellent actor Jeff Bridges, doing one of his best performances on screen. Black Mass is a completely different film, but director Scott Cooper proves once again, why he is such an amazing story teller, and knows how to get actors to perform on top level. His vision of how South Boston looked like, when Whitey Bugler was the king of town, looks really good. The costume design, the dialogue is really well written, and you can feel the atmosphere surrounding the moment of time. Black Mass is definetely the best film Johnny Depp have made in many years, and i really hope that he gets nominated for his performance. He is the biggest reason why this film is as good as it is. Run down to your local theatre, buy tickets to Black Mass, and witness how really good acting should look like. 

Rating: DDDD