Black Mass (2015)
★★½ — Black Mass (2015)
Scott Cooper had already proved he could handle morally compromised American characters, first with the country-music drama Crazy Heart (2009) and then the more sombre Hostiles (2017) would follow, but Black Mass represented his biggest canvas yet. The film is based on the 2001 non-fiction book of the same name by journalists Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill, which documented the real career of James "Whitey" Bulger, the South Boston crime boss who ran a notorious arrangement with the FBI through the 1970s and 1980s. Production drew on a co-financing arrangement across UK and US companies, and the shoot took place largely in Massachusetts. For Depp, the role arrived at a point when his star was fading somewhat after years of heavily costumed blockbuster work, making it a conscious pivot back towards character-driven drama.
Black Mass (2015) has all the ingredients of a gripping gangster epic. Real-life infamy, moral decay, FBI corruption, and Johnny Depp fully committed in white contact lenses and a whispery Boston drawl as Whitey Bulger. He’s chilling when he needs to be, eerily calm, and terrifyingly unpredictable. The supporting cast is stacked too, all turning in solid performances under Scott Cooper’s restrained direction. The film looks good (the 70s/80s Boston setting is grimy and authentic) and the violence is sudden, brutal, and impactful. When the action hits, it lands hard. But for a genre I usually love, Black Mass feels oddly flat. The story plods through the rise and fall of Bulger like a procedural checklist: make a deal with the FBI, eliminate rivals, betray everyone, vanish. There’s no real momentum, no deeper exploration of power or psychology, just a slow march toward inevitable downfall. And at just over 100 minutes, it somehow feels like 180. The pacing drags, the tone never shifts, and the lack of emotional engagement makes it hard to stay invested. You’re watching evil unfold, but not really feeling it. Well-made on a technical level, strong acting, decent crime drama, but ultimately average. Not bad, not boring, just… underwhelming. A missed opportunity to dig deeper into one of America’s most notorious criminals. More procedural than powerful.
Rating: ★★½ | Year: 2015 | Watched: 2025-11-05
Where to watch (UK)
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Where to watch (UK)
Rent: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Buy: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Physical: Amazon UK
Affiliate disclosure: Movies With Macca may earn a small commission on purchases or subscriptions started via these links. It costs you nothing extra.
Related on Movies With Macca
More from Scott Cooper: Crazy Heart (2009)
More with Johnny Depp: Corpse Bride (2005) · Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003) · Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017) · Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
More from United Kingdom: Lessons of Darkness (1992) · Shinjuku Boys (1995) · The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) · Blue (1993)
More from the 2010s: Wonder (2017) · Beautiful Boy (2018) · The Witch (2015) · What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
More drama: Viy (1967) · Wonder (2017) · A Better Tomorrow (1986) · Beautiful Boy (2018)
More crime: A Better Tomorrow (1986) · Angst (1983) · Stolen Face (1952) · Cairo Station (1958)
