Rear Admiral Finally Weighs In On "Black Mass" And Also Has A Few Netflix Recommendations
The eagerly-anticipated, quintessential Boston gangster story about two Irish guys (one “good”, one “bad”) stealthily conspiring to knock their Italian competition out of business finally hit the big screen a couple of weeks ago. The story detailing the murderous and treacherous alliance between the morally bankrupt FBI and its prized “top echelon informant” Whitey Bulger, who was free to operate willy-nilly thanks to this arrangement, was a hot property in Hollywood after the Canadiens fan was captured a week after the Bruins won their first Stanley Cup in 39 years in 2011. Matt and Ben were going to give us their take but put things on the back burner when it was clear that Scott Cooper’s version would beat theirs to the silver screen.
Rather than hitting you over the head like a blackjack in the way a great wise guy movie should, “Black Mass” instead feels more like a dope slap to the back of the head. Sure, it gets your attention. But it doesn’t leave you dazed and/or stunned, wondering what the hell just happened like after the first (or fifth) time you saw “Goodfellas”.
The book of the same name by Gerard O’Neill and Dick Lehr, on which the movie is based, contains a plethora of information and details about a shitload of assorted characters set over decades so Cooper had to decide what to cull and what to keep in telling such an epic story in just two hours. But the movie often felt like just a series of random events, as recounted by Bulger’s three main underlings in their depositions, in the sordid history portrayed without any sort of narrative. Deborah Hussey’s murder made for the most gruesome scene in the movie but it also hammered home just what kind of lunatic we were dealing with. Yet Debra Davis’s murder barely warranted a mention. (Perhaps the director just wanted to convey how much of a pervert that Stephen Flemmi was for diddling his own step-daughter).
The relationship with and killing of fellow FBI informant Brian Halloran and the poor guy (Michael Donahue) he bummed a ride off of felt like it was shoehorned in there. What made his interactions with and death at the hands of Bulger more worthy (in the cinematic sense) than any of the other victims?
Bulger was tipped off about Halloran’s whereabouts by his old project rat fed buddy and handler John Connolly. Maybe Cooper was using Halloran as a vessel to hammer home one of the underlying themes of the film—that the FBI was, given that they were doing the opposite of what they swore to do, every bit the scumbag Bulger was and perhaps worse because they were literally setting up a murder. My one quibble is that the movie limited the feds’ involvement to just Connolly and John Morris. How H. Paul (“What do you want, tears?”) Rico wasn’t even mentioned is a mystery. Cooper could’ve really made the point just how corrupt the FBI was and that Bulger was hardly an anomaly given that, years earlier, the FBI did the exact same thing with a savage named Joe Barboza. In fact, the Feds even helped Barboza frame four innocent North End guys for the murder of bookie Teddy Deegan (who was actually killed by Vincent Flemmi, Stephen’s rat brother).
However, the events depicted are extremely well-acted and the top-notch ensemble cast elevates the script’s standard gangster movie tropes. Johnny Depp makes a brilliant return to actual acting after a run of shit and you actually forget you’re watching Johnny Depp. With a perfect make-up job and Whitey’s various sartorial choices that the public became privy to via glamour shots provided by his friends at the FBI, Depp creates a definitive persona for Bulger. Whether it’s 100% accurate or not is irrelevant, Depp owns the role and does a masterful job at conveying the menace and the moral vacancy of Bulger. Even down to the gravy tooth. Though it’s still early and a lot of Oscar bait hasn’t been released yet, Depp may well receive his fourth Best Actor nomination.
Joel Edgerton, who you might remember from CGI-reliant films such as “Attack of the Clones” and “Revenge of the Sith”, does an unreal job as Whitey’s pawn. He captures his early cockiness as equally well as his later weariness when things are no longer in his control. As a native of the only other place on the planet that doesn’t pronounce its Rs either, the Aussie Edgerton nailed our local patois better than 99% of his peers do. His work is certainly deserving of Best Supporting Actor nomination right now though future competition could bump him off some ballots.
Though Bulger and Connolly were obviously the two main characters, I thought that the high-quality actors hired to play Flemmi (Rory Cochrane), John Martorano (W. Earl Brown), and Kevin Weeks (Jesse Plemons and his hysterical wigs) were underused to the extent that producers could’ve just used a trio of local plug-uglies to play the roles. These guys had a lot more to offer but weren’t given a whole lot. Given past roles, I was secretly hoping Cooper threw in some meta jokes by having Weeks refer to Bulger as “Mr. White(y)” or having Martorano asking, “Have you seen my Tec-9?”. Conversely, Adam Scott and Kevin Bacon did serviceable work in their less glamorous roles as eyebrow-raising feds. Benedict Cumberbatch did good work as Billy Bulger but his storyline wasn’t used all that much either.
Overall, “Black Mass” is a decent though certainly not great movie. It didn’t have the same seeped-in-Boston feel of other entries in the Boston gangster genre nor will it be considered as good most of them. The accents were pretty good for the most part (Depp’s and Edgerton’s were both fine). And we got another movie with scenes of people getting whacked by the water in Eastie because it’s got a hell of a view of the Harbor and Tobin (certainly not because Bulger and company killed people there). But a story this big deserved a better movie and maybe after seeing this, Affleck and Damon decide to circle back on their shelved project.
Bulger, thanks in large part to the rigged game he arranged via Connolly, left a sizable mark in the gangster world. But this cinematic version of his life from 1975 until his capture won’t do the same in the film world. While not quite a Fredo, “Black Mass” is more like Lefty from Depp’s Italian gangster drama “Donnie Brasco”—a wanna-be that gets recognized but will never be a made guy.
A few more buds for your bowl…
*If you’re a Rolling Stones fan, you probably already watched “Under the Influence”, the Keith Richards doc that is available on Netflix (if you haven’t, the fuck you waiting for?). But you don’t have to be a Stones die-hard to enjoy the legendary guitarist’s look back on his many American musical influences (hence the title). Filmed during the making of his recent solo album (good shit, by the way), we follow Keith to such stops as Chicago, NYC, and Nashville where he revisits the sounds and people who would, through the Stones’ translation, affect rock music in a way that would forever alter its trajectory. It was ironic that it took five skinny Brits in the ’60s to teach white American kids American music when the Stones turned their fans onto legends like Muddy Waters and Little Richard. This doc is worth it for Richards’s laugh alone. But the music and stories make it a must watch for any fan of rock and roll.
*”Narcos” is the latest binge-er from Netflix. The show is centered around the DEA’s efforts to take down the powerful Pablo Escobar cartel and tells the story from several perspectives that give it “Pause When You Piss” status so you don’t miss a pertinent detail. Wagner Moura’s Escobar is the best thing about this excellent show. At 10 episodes usually between 40-50 minutes, this one is easy to bang out over a weekend. A Season 2 will be coming as well.
*”Freeway” is an illuminating doc about “Freeway” Rick Ross (i.e. the real one) and how he, with substantial help from the CIA, became the preeminent cocaine dealer on the Pacific Coast. This movie makes for a nice companion piece with the Jeremy Renner movie “Kill The Messenger”, about the journalist who helped uncover the story and how his life was never the same for doing so. The shit the government pulled will make your head spin.
*Netflix also dropped a shitload of good movies onto the site on Thursday; “Boogie Nights” “A Clockwork Orange” “2001: A Space Odyssey” “The Wild Bunch” “Batman Begins” “American Pie” “Kingpin” and “Risky Business” among others. This is in addition to the dozens (hundreds?) of great old movies and shows already available.
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