Sunday 11th Oct – ‘Octoberfest’
I took a day off from the Film Festival and enjoyed a few beers at Oktoberfest!
Monday 12th Oct – ‘Black Mass’
The trailer hinted that we might be in for a treat, this decade’s ‘Godfather’ or ‘Goodfellas’ but ‘Black Mass’ never quite hit those lofty heights of classic cinema. It most resembles ‘The Departed’, which is not particularly unusual considering that film borrowed much of its setting and characters from the true story which is depicted in ‘Black Mass’. As to whether you prefer Jack Nicholson’s version of James ‘Whitey’ Bulger to Johnny Depp’s is a matter for your own consideration. If the film doesn’t reach classic status it is still a fascinating watch. I was constantly reminded of a shark by Depp’s performance – make up gives him an aquiline nose, his eyes are dead, he moves through locations fluidly, as if he owns them. Also, unlike Pesci’s violent gangster characters, Depp seems oddly calm and emotionless when killing, which makes him even more unpredictable and savage. In this sense, it is a closer depiction of a true psychopath than the one usually portrayed in films.
For me, though, the most interesting part of the story is the collusion of the FBI in the rise of Bulger and, specifically, the fall from grace of Joel Edgerton’s Special Agent John Connolly. It is quite apparent that the FBI was willing to turn a blind eye to Bulger’s excesses, if he continued to provide useful intelligence on the Mafia to them. This complicity, however, allowed Bulger to advance from small time hoodlum to a crime Kingpin and the lack of any checks and balances on Connolly allowed him to assist his childhood friend for decades. As a result, both men are unlikely to ever be released from prison.