Black Mass (2015)
January 23, 2016 2:05 PM - Subscribe
The true story of Whitey Bulger, the brother of a state senator and the most infamous violent criminal in the history of South Boston, who became an FBI informant to take down a Mafia family invading his turf.
hey I just watched this on the airplane and it was much better than I expected (granted I was on the airplane).
Firstly I was relieved to note that the Boston accents were not the nails-on-a-chalkboard bad as they were in Mystic River.
Having vaguely heard of the brothers all my life but without paying too much attention to the details, I wasn't planning to see this but, airplane. I thought the film did a good job of exposing the tawdry life of the Boston mob. Nobody was living the high life on ill-gotten gains. They weren't even that smart. Whitey's first reaction to any threat was to have that person killed, even if it ultimately made the situation more threatening. He did luck out having a friend in the FBI to take down his competitors.
The fact that one brother was a well-placed politician and the other a notorious criminal was so embedded in our consciousness that it was just taken for granted but man, looking back, how bizarre was that?
Johnny Depp. Was nigh-on unrecognizable. Which was the point but he gave the impression he (Whitey) had already had extensive plastic surgery to avoid recognition. His taut face and pinpoint light eyes were just unnatural and creepy.
There were two brief shots that oddly resonated with me for some reason. One was Billy Bulger walking in the St Patrick's Day parade with his shillelagh, waving to his brother. The other was a rear view shot of Whitey driving his car with three of his goons as passengers. Something about the shape of his head, it was alien. I know this makes no sense.
The coda says Whitey was on the run for only 12 years. I thought it was much longer, like 20 years. That's how long it seemed when it was happening.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 6:45 AM on March 8, 2016
Firstly I was relieved to note that the Boston accents were not the nails-on-a-chalkboard bad as they were in Mystic River.
Having vaguely heard of the brothers all my life but without paying too much attention to the details, I wasn't planning to see this but, airplane. I thought the film did a good job of exposing the tawdry life of the Boston mob. Nobody was living the high life on ill-gotten gains. They weren't even that smart. Whitey's first reaction to any threat was to have that person killed, even if it ultimately made the situation more threatening. He did luck out having a friend in the FBI to take down his competitors.
The fact that one brother was a well-placed politician and the other a notorious criminal was so embedded in our consciousness that it was just taken for granted but man, looking back, how bizarre was that?
Johnny Depp. Was nigh-on unrecognizable. Which was the point but he gave the impression he (Whitey) had already had extensive plastic surgery to avoid recognition. His taut face and pinpoint light eyes were just unnatural and creepy.
There were two brief shots that oddly resonated with me for some reason. One was Billy Bulger walking in the St Patrick's Day parade with his shillelagh, waving to his brother. The other was a rear view shot of Whitey driving his car with three of his goons as passengers. Something about the shape of his head, it was alien. I know this makes no sense.
The coda says Whitey was on the run for only 12 years. I thought it was much longer, like 20 years. That's how long it seemed when it was happening.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 6:45 AM on March 8, 2016
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posted by elgilito at 5:22 AM on February 1, 2016