Black Mass
About the Film
In 1970s South Boston, small-time Irish gangster James “Whitey” Bulger is offered an unholy bargain by John Connolly, an ambitious FBI agent who grew up on the same streets. If Bulger will feed the Bureau information on the rival Italian Mafia, the FBI will look the other way at his own crimes. Bulger takes the deal — and turns it into a licence to build one of the most vicious criminal empires in the city’s history.
Shielded by Connolly and the corruptible agents around him, Bulger expands into extortion, drugs, guns and a string of cold-blooded murders, while his brother Billy rises to become one of Massachusetts’s most powerful politicians. As the bodies mount and Connolly sinks deeper into complicity, the arrangement curdles into catastrophe, ending in Bulger’s disappearance and his years as one of America’s most wanted fugitives.
Plot synopsis by johnny-depp.org.
Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp vanishes into James “Whitey” Bulger beneath receding slicked-back hair, pale blue contact lenses and rotting teeth, delivering one of his most chilling latter-day performances. He plays Bulger with a quiet, reptilian stillness that can flip to sudden savagery, making the gangster’s charm as frightening as his violence. The transformation earned Depp SAG, Critics’ Choice and Satellite Award nominations and was widely hailed as a career-reviving turn.
Cast & Crew
Cast
James “Whitey” BulgerJohnny Depp
John ConnollyJoel Edgerton
Billy BulgerBenedict Cumberbatch
Stephen FlemmiRory Cochrane
Kevin WeeksJesse Plemons
Charles McGuireKevin Bacon
John MorrisDavid Harbour
Lindsey CyrDakota Johnson
Fred WyshakCorey Stoll
Crew
DirectorScott Cooper
ScreenplayMark Mallouk & Jez Butterworth
Based on the book byDick Lehr & Gerard O’Neill
MusicJunkie XL (Tom Holkenborg)
CinematographyMasanobu Takayanagi
ProducersJohn Lesher, Brian Oliver, Scott Cooper, Patrick McCormick, Tyler Thompson
StudioWarner Bros. Pictures
Filming Locations
- South Boston, Dorchester and East Boston, Massachusetts
- Cambridge, Quincy, Lynn and Revere Beach, Massachusetts
- Copley Square and the Harvard Club, Boston
More about this film
Trivia
- Johnny Depp asked to meet the real Whitey Bulger for research but was refused; he instead consulted Bulger’s defence attorney.
- Depp’s transformation used pale blue contact lenses, a receding hairline and extensive prosthetics to mirror the real Bulger.
- Benedict Cumberbatch stepped into the role of Billy Bulger just weeks before shooting, replacing Guy Pearce.
- Sienna Miller filmed scenes as Bulger’s fugitive companion Catherine Greig that were cut from the final edit.
Awards
- 2016 Screen Actors Guild Award — Best Actor (Johnny Depp), nominated
- 2016 Critics’ Choice Award — Best Actor (Johnny Depp), nominated
- 2015 Palm Springs Film Festival — Desert Palm Achievement Award (Johnny Depp) Won
