The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

For all of its hype, Black Mass just doesn't seem to sit right. Based on Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill's book, Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy Alliance between the FBI and the Irish Mob, the film borrows heavily from Scorsese's Goodfellas and The Departed, though Scott Cooper's film definitely has its moments.

Black Mass follows the real-life story of Jimmy 'Whitey' Bulger (Depp); a small-time thug who – after spending nine years in incarceration – has finally returned home to South Boston; a place now being threatened by the Angiulo Brothers. Determined to regain control of his home turf, Jimmy – together with the Winter Hill Gang – finds help from F.B.I Agent, John Connolly (Edgerton); a former Southie kid himself and a childhood friend of Bulger's who proposes an alliance of sorts where Jimmy is to inform him about the activities of the Angiulo family in exchange for federal protection.  Initially appalled by the idea of 'ratting', Jimmy soon accepts, as this proposition only means less interference from the cops while his own business sprouts into a domineering criminal empire of its own.

Written by Mark Mallouk and Jez Butterworth, Black Mass is a biopic that attempts to cover the life of Jimmy 'Whitey' Bulger; one of America's most-wanted criminals and one of the most feared mobsters in Boston. With the direction of the indisputably talented Scott Cooper – see Crazy Heart – the film manages to build a gangster quality and aesthetic of its own, but rarely bothers to dig beneath the surface. Rather than exploring the inner workings and psyche of its main character, the film whizzes through the motions, choosing to instead use set-pieces and scenarios to a similar effect to Goodfellas’ ‘How am I Funny?’ scene. The problem is that it tries too hard and these scenes, which should serve to frame Whitey as a character, seem forced.

Another strange aspect that undermines Black Mass is the film’s use of the secondary and more peripheral characters; for example, Dakota Johnson plays Whitey’s girlfriend and mother of his child but seemingly disappears with no explanation. Luckily, though, Depp’s performance is brilliant and essentially the only thing about the film that could be called ‘great’.  Sporting a piercing, dead-eyed stare and a purposeful strut, Depp embodies his character spectacularly in what is one of his best performances in years. However, we never really get to know him; we only get to fear him – and that’s what keeps Black Mass from being a great film.