MIT Lecture Series Committee

February 12 & 13, 2016

Rated R
123 minutes

view trailer

format: DVD

Black Mass (2015)

Three-time Oscar nominee Johnny Depp stars as notorious mobster James "Whitey" Bulger in the drama Black Mass, directed by Scott Cooper. The film also stars Joel Edgerton as FBI Agent John Connolly; Oscar nominee Benedict Cumberbatch as Whitey's brother, powerful State Senator Billy Bulger; Rory Cochrane as Steve Flemmi, Whitey's closest partner in crime; Jesse Plemons as Whitey's main henchman, Kevin Weeks; and Kevin Bacon as FBI Special Agent in Charge Charles McGuire.

In 1970s South Boston, FBI Agent John Connolly (Edgerton) persuades Irish mobster James "Whitey" Bulger (Depp) to collaborate with the FBI in order to eliminate their common enemy: the Italian mob. The drama tells the story of this unholy alliance, which spiraled out of control, allowing Whitey to evade law enforcement while consolidating power and becoming one of the most ruthless and powerful gangsters in Boston history. [www.blackmassthemovie.com]

Propelled by a raw and primal performance by Johnny Depp, Scott Cooper's Black Mass will have you barricading your doors and hiding under the bed after seeing this corrosive gangster film.
      -- Bruce Kirkland, Toronto Sun. Read this review.