Black Mass (2015)
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A mobster and an FBI agent form an unholy alliance in the heart of South Boston.
The story
In 1975, James "Whitey" Bulger, leader of the Winter Hill Gang, controls most organized crime within South Boston. His supremacy is challenged by the North End-based Angiulo Brothers, a rival gang that is part of the New England Mafia family. When a rival gang's hitman murders a Winter Hill soldier, Bulger becomes an informant for FBI agent John Connolly. Connolly believes he can infiltrate the Angiulo Brothers' organization with Whitey's help. Although Whitey hates the idea of being a rat, he understands what the resultant protection would afford him, his gang, and his family. The alliance creates a complex dynamic as the lines between law enforcement and organized crime begin to blur.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1975, James "Whitey" Bulger leads the Winter Hill Gang in South Boston. After a rival gang, the Angiulo Brothers, murders one of his men, Bulger becomes an informant for FBI agent John Connolly. While Connolly uses Bulger to infiltrate the New England Mafia, Bulger uses Connolly's protection to expand his criminal empire. The relationship becomes increasingly intimate and compromised, as Connolly begins accepting gifts from the gang. The alliance is tested when a fellow agent, John Morris, becomes suspicious, and a prosecutor, Fred Wyshak, demands Bulger's arrest. Internal tensions rise as Bulger's behavior becomes more violent and unpredictable following his mother's death in 1985. Eventually, a front-page story in The Boston Globe exposes the FBI's links to organized crime, leading to the arrest of Connolly and his associates. Bulger eventually flees Boston in 1995, remaining on the FBI's most wanted list until his arrest in 2011. The film depicts the true story of the alliance between the FBI and the Irish Mob.
- First release year
- 2015
- Runtime (minutes)
- 123
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Scott Cooper
- Writers
- Mark Mallouk · screenplay; Jez Butterworth · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Johnny Depp · Bulger; Joel Edgerton · Connolly; Benedict Cumberbatch · William "Billy" Bulger; Kevin Bacon · Charles McGuire; Jesse Plemons · Kevin Weeks; Dakota Johnson · Lindsey Cyr; Juno Temple · Deborah Hussey; Sienna Miller · Catherine Greig
- Genres
- biographical crime drama; crime drama; crime thriller
- Themes
- corruption; loyalty; betrayal
- Tone and mood
- gritty; tense
- Setting
- South Boston and other locations in Massachusetts and California during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
- Premise and plot tags
- true story; organized crime; FBI
- Source material / true-story basis
- Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob
- Reception
- The film received generally positive reviews and was praised for Johnny Depp's performance.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 74% · scale: percentage · review count: 289; Metacritic · score: 68 · scale: 100 · review count: 43
- Production trivia
- The film was based on a book published in 2000.; Sienna Miller's scenes were cut from the final film.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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