John McGuirk
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- May 23, 2011
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This looks awesome. I hope Depp can rebound, this might be an Oscar nomination for him if done right.
Tommaso Tocci at The Film Stage (B-):Expectations of Depp are high on this one, now that audiences seem to have finally tired of his infamous cartoonish performances. The role of Jimmy presents a nice opportunity for some middle ground between those and his more serious turns this time he plays a gangster (like in Donnie Brasco, Blow, Public Enemies) and he can do his thing behind a mask. Pale, blue-eyed and bald if not for the white tufts of hair seemingly about to take off from the sides of his head he looks like Goodfellas Ray Liotta in an advanced stage of transformation into Gary Oldmans Dracula. Depps magnetism serves the character well, even buried underneath the glacial menace of a man whose mission in life seems to be the manipulation of others.Geoffrey MacNab at The Independent (3/5):
Black Mass is a triumph of sorts for Depp. It shows him tapping a malevolence and cruelty that many fans would never have guessed was in him. As a gangster movie, though, it is a frustrating and strangely dour affair. Bulgers success lay in the fact that he was smart, ruthless and never showed emotion. He is simply too inscrutable and aloof a figure to make a satisfactory anti-hero. Movie villains dont come any less loveable than this.Peter Bradshaw at The Guardian (4/5):
Cooper and his screenwriters Mark Mallouk and Jez Butterworth have something substantial to add to the genre: making the point that gangsters do not arise from nowhere like comic-strip supervillains. They are the symptoms of political corruption, parasites created by agencies of the state, and by weak, credulous law enforcement officials who are content to sub-contract policing to the bad guys.
Scott Foundas at Variety:f Johnny Depps mesmerizing performance a bracing return to form for the star after a series of critical and commercial misfires is the chief selling point of Black Mass, there is much else to recommend this sober, sprawling, deeply engrossing evocation of Bulgers South Boston fiefdom and his complex relationship with the FBI agent John Connolly, played with equally impressive skill by Joel Edgerton.Todd McCarthy at THR:
Depp [ ] takes control of the proceedings from the outset and never yields it, except for when he disappears for a while in the second half. Hes as charismatic as his character must be, fully convincing and frightening as his Bulger toys with friends and enemies alike to keep them guessing, hides his true intentions and dishes out punishment at an alarming rate. Depps instinct for observing, underlaying and keeping things in, then letting it all out when required, pays big dividends here in a performance far more convincing than his previous big gangster role, John Dillinger in Michael Manns Public Enemies.; its unexpected, very welcome at this point in his career, and one of his best.Alonso Duralde at The Wrap:
While Black Mass is frequently engrossing, it has occasional pacing issues; some characters (like Dakota Johnson, playing the mother of Bulgers child) disappear sooner than youd imagine, while the films last act could stand to lose 15 or 20 minutes. (If the movie starts with hoods turning states evidence, thus guaranteeing the plots outcome, we shouldnt notice how long its taking to get to the finish line.)
Miller Cut From Rave Reviewed "Black Mass"
By Garth Franklin Friday September 4th 2015 02:34AM
The Venice Film Festival is currently in full swing and in surprising news, four major dramas set to get a wide U.S. release soon have screened so far and all of them have been landing rave reviews.
Amongst them is "Black Mass," filmmaker Scott Cooper's crime drama about Boston mobster James 'Whitey' Bulger who is currently serving two life sentences for murder and other crimes. Reviews so far have seen Johnny Depp, who plays Bulger, scoring some of the best notices he's had in over a decade.
The film itself scored two rounds of strong applause as well, while several supporting actors in the film like Joel Edgerton and Benedict Cumberbatch have also scored good notices. One person who WAS in the film was actress Sienna Miller who was to play the role of Bulger's girlfriend. That role was cut out of the film entirely in the editing room.
Talking about that decision, Cooper tells The Boston Globe that the film's focus decided to stick with the mobster's earlier life and though Miller had been "fantastic," the decision to cut her "came down to narrative choices."
Warners begins an international rollout of "Black Mass" on September 17th.
Source: Deadline