BLACK MASS: Ensemble cast bring Boston Gangster & FBI deal to the Big Screen

Paul and I watch a lot of CI (Crime & Investigation) on cable, it's one of our go-to channels. One of our must watch shows are the ones about Mobsters and Gangsters. Watching these real life godfathers deal with their 'business' on the streets of New York or Boston, in prison or in fact any city for that matter can be really shocking. The rampant crimes, the gruesome murders, all of it seem to be part of a Hollywood movie. 

In keeping with tradition-I'm really looking forward to the Scott Cooper helmed "Black Mass" based on the book by Dick Lehr & Gerard O'Neil (of which I have been trying to get a copy of but have had no luck so far, if you know of or have any idea where I can get a copy, please let me know). 

The book,  Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob, is about the infamous gangster Whitey Bulger. The film stars Oscar® nominee Johnny Depp as Whitey Bulger and Joel Edgerton (“The Great Gatsby”) as FBI Agent John Connolly. 

For more than a decade—until his capture in 2011—Boston’s most infamous crime lord, James “Whitey” Bulger, was hunted by the FBI, surpassed only by Osama Bin Laden at the top of the Bureau’s Most Wanted List.

Edgerton and Depp as FBI Agent John Connolly and mobster Whitey Bulger.

Conolly and Bulger were childhood friends.

In 1970s South Boston, FBI Agent John Connolly (Edgerton) persuades Irish mobster James “Whitey” Bulger (Depp) to collaborate with the FBI and eliminate a common enemy: the Italian mob. The drama tells the true story of this unholy alliance, which spiraled out of control, allowing Whitey to evade law enforcement, consolidate power, and become one of the most ruthless and powerful gangsters in Boston history.

“Black Mass” also stars Benedict Cumberbatch (“The Imitation Game”) as Whitey’s brother, Billy Bulger, who is a Massachusetts State Senator; Jesse Plemons (AMC’s “Breaking Bad”) as Whitey’s longtime partner in crime, Kevin Weeks; Sienna Miller (“American Sniper”) as Whitey’s lover, Catherine Greig; Dakota Johnson (“Fifty Shades of Grey”) as Lindsey Cyr, Whitey’s former girlfriend and mother of his only child; Rory Cochrane (“Argo”) as Steve Flemmi, another member of the Irish mob; Julianne Nicholson (“August: Osage County”) as John Connolly’s wife, Marianne; and Adam Scott (ABC’s “Parks and Recreation”) as FBI Agent Robert Fitzpatrick.

Cumberbatch and Depp as brothers on different paths on Black Mass.

Another thing I'm looking forward to in Black Mass is to see two of my favorite actors, Benedict Cumberbatch and Johnny Depp play as very different brothers. Depp a mobster and Cumberbatch a Senator. What more drama can you ask for right?

Early reviews are praising Depp for his performance as Bulger, some even calling it "his best". 

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

Johnny Depp as Whitey Bulger.