Black Mass (2015) on Netflix
James "Whitey" Bulger rules South Boston's organized crime. When a rival Mafia family pushes in, FBI agent John Connolly, an old friend, offers protection in exchange for information.
- Netflix3.5/5
- IMDb6.8/10203,981 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes73%
Trailer
Plot summary
In 1975, the Winter Hill Gang holds most of organized crime in South Boston, led by James "Whitey" Bulger, whose crew includes Stephen Flemmi, Johnny Martorano and Kevin Weeks. At home, Bulger has a longtime girlfriend, Lindsey Cyr, and a young son, Douglas. The North End's Angiulo Brothers, part of the New England Mafia, challenge his turf, and a motorcycle assassin kills a Winter Hill soldier. FBI agent John Connolly, a South Boston native and an old friend of Whitey and his brother Billy, the state senate president, comes home with a plan to use Whitey against the Angiulos. Whitey despises the idea of being a rat, but he sees what FBI protection could mean for his gang. Connolly's co-worker John Morris supports him, while their boss, Charles McGuire, has doubts.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Black Mass (2015)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Johnny Depp studied surveillance and police audio of Whitey Bulger and tried to meet the jailed gangster himself, but was refused. He worked instead with Bulger's attorney Jay Carney, who came to the set several times to give feedback on the performance.
- Joel Edgerton built his FBI agent John Connolly from old footage of the real Connolly on talk shows and in courtrooms, but deliberately refused to meet him, telling The Wall Street Journal that Connolly "has one version of events and the film has a different version".
- Depp walked away from the film after its sale at the 66th Cannes Film Festival over a salary dispute with Cross Creek Pictures, and only rejoined around the time Scott Cooper replaced Barry Levinson as director.
- Joel Edgerton originally dropped out when Depp agreed to return, and Tom Hardy was in early talks to take the role of John Connolly before Edgerton changed his mind and came back.
- Sienna Miller shot a whole performance as Catherine Greig, the companion who was on the run with Bulger, and all of it was cut from the finished film for "narrative choices". Erica McDermott, cast as Billy Bulger's wife Mary, lost most of her scenes as well.
- Whitey Bulger refused to watch the film at all, and his associate Kevin Weeks called it "pure fiction" while admitting the killings had happened, disputing most of how the film portrayed the people involved.
