I went into Black Mass having seen no Trailers. I'd seen posters and heard a little hype from friends and NPR, so I knew it was the "Whitey Bulger" story. Not knowing very much about the Bulger story, the historian part of me was pretty engaged.
The acting was just as good as you'd imagine from that cast list. Johnny Depp gave an amazing performance, breaking out of the Jack Sparrow rut he's been in since 2003. Benedict Cumberbatch does a Boston accent that's very nearly believable, and he does a great job in a supporting role, never stealing the screen as he often dies. It's neat to watch Adam Scott hold his own amongst so many accomplished dramatic actors, however he doesn't get enough screen time to truly cut his teeth.
That said, none of the characters are deeply explored. They're barely shallowly explored. No one has a character arc. No one changes. The movie suffers from classic biopic syndrome, presenting a series of factual events and failing to present them within properly structured plot arc. You find yourself watching a brief history lesson rather than a story. Like most biopics, the film cuts off with little resolution.
While Depp's performance and the history aspect were enough to keep me engaged for the duration, overall I found the movie entirely forgettable. If I want a compelling, "true-life" crime movie, I'll watch Goodfellas again.
The movie was also a constant reminder of why and how much I dislike Boston. Their accent, their culture, their arrogant, xenophobic, exclusionary sense of self-entitlement: Sorry, Boston, but you have yet to win any affection from me.
My one sentence review:
"Black Mass" is two hours of great actors playing disappointingly-written characters in little snippets of some of a plot.
