KEEP YOUR ENEMIES CLOSE.
In the late 1970s, the FBI makes a deal with up-and-coming Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger (Johnny Depp); in exchange for information on his rivals, the authorities turn a blind eye to Bulger’s activities. One of the most outrageous cases of corruption, where law enforcement ended up protecting the most dangerous mobster in the history of Boston, gets a traditional but engrossing take in this movie that focuses on Bulger and the special agent who became too close to his old neighborhood. The filmmakers handle the inevitable gangster clichĂ©s deftly, but are careful at the same time to maintain realism. Still, it wouldn’t be this entertaining without Depp’s chilly performance.Â
2015-U.S. 122 min. Color. Widescreen. Produced by Scott Cooper, John Lesher, Patrick McCormick, Brian Oliver, Tyler Thompson. Directed by Scott Cooper. Screenplay: Mark Mallouk, Jez Butterworth. Book: Dick Lehr, Gerard O’Neill. Cast: Johnny Depp (James “Whitey” Bulger), Joel Edgerton (John Connolly), Benedict Cumberbatch (William “Billy” Bulger), Dakota Johnson, Kevin Bacon, Jesse Plemons… Corey Stoll, Peter Sarsgaard, Juno Temple.
Trivia: Co-executive produced by Brett Ratner. Guy Pearce was allegedly first cast for a role. The story of Bulger was also told in the documentary Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger (2014).
Last word: “I came across many people that – because I have a lot of non-actors in the film – and a couple of them had worked for Whitey, seeing really all different sides. I wanted to put forth the multifaceted portrait of this man, but again, you’re making a narrative feature. It’s not in service as a documentary. I don’t think people come to movies for facts. I think they come for psychological truth and humanity and emotion.” (Cooper, Coming Soon)