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Posted October 18, 2015 by Ica Hontiveros-Cheng in Movies/TV
 
 

BLACK MASS: Boston Mob & FBI Alliance take the movies

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Three time Oscar nominee Johnny Depp (‘Sweeney Todd’, ‘Finding Neverland’, the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ films) takes on Boston Crime Lord Whitey Bulger in the Scott Cooper helmed Gangster-thriller “Black Mass” – based on the book: Black Mass: An Unholy Alliance between the FBI & the Irish Mafia by Dick Lehr & Gerard O’Neil.

Jimmy “Whitey” Bulger was for more than a decade-until his capture in 2011 was considered as Boston’s most infamous crime lord. Bulger was hunted by the FBI and was surpassed only by Osama Bin Laden at the top of the Bureau’s Most Wanted List.

The film revolves around a deal which was created between the ruthless gangster Bulger and FBI Agent John Connolly (Joel Edgerton) which allowed Bulger to expand his criminal empire with complete impunity. Conolly and Bulger grew up as childhood friends and it was this alliance and his blind ambition which let Conolly ignore the crimes committed and the body count that continued to rise.

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As if that was not enough for a good story but the drama continues with Whitey Bulger’s Senator (yes, you read that right) Senator brother Billy Bulger played by Oscar Best Actor nominee Benedict Cumberbatch. They are both very different, one being a crime lord and the other, on his way to the presidency of the Massachusetts State Senate, yet both brothers still visited their mom and were still close even though they were on very different sides of the law.

Cumberbatch says of playing a real person: “There is an added responsibility playing real people. You’re not just a storyteller; you’ve got to take into account that these people exist. And how much of that do you sacrifice for the sake of creating a movie? Films are very potent because they do become some kind of  history – they form a sort of modern oral history in the sense that they are a way which we pass these stories and characters to future generations. So you have to take care…you have to take real care.”

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The film also boasts of an ensemble cast which includes Rory Cochrane (‘Argo’) as Stephen Flemmi, Whitey’s closest partner in crime; Jesse Plemons (TV’s ‘Fargo) as Whitey’s main henchman, Kevin Weeks; and Kevin Bacon (come on – you know this guy) as FBI Special Agent in Charge Charles McGuire.

Opening across the Philippines on October 21, “Black Mass” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.


Ica Hontiveros-Cheng

 
Geek mom to a little Jedi. Freelance writer. Writes and vlogs thoughts, and reviews on movies, series and pop culture.