Johnny Depp in Black Mass

Much like the city's other exports, Boston's gangster flicks vary in quality from genre-shattering genius (The Departed, most '90s bands, the people who invented America) to mind-numbing pantomimes of misogyny (The Boondock Saints, Boston sports fans, Mark Wahlberg).

Image Courtesy of Warner Bros.

TIGHTY “WHITEY”: Edgerton and Depp.

Much like the city's other exports, Boston's gangster flicks vary in quality from genre-shattering genius (The Departed, most '90s bands, the people who invented America) to mind-numbing pantomimes of misogyny (The Boondock Saints, Boston sports fans, Mark Wahlberg). Scott Cooper's Black Mass is the latest cinematic try.

It tells the story of Boston's most notorious criminal, James "Whitey" Bulger (Johnny Depp) and the deal he made with the FBI's John Connolly (Joel Edgerton) that ensured he could do whatever he wanted for decades. For those doubting Depp's acting since he just spent a decade doing a Keith Richards impression for Disney, Black Mass should put those doubts to rest. Depp captures Bulger as an affable family man, then a sociopathic murderer. He's tortured by grief, then tortures someone ruthlessly. Yet all of Bulger's turns are grounded in the same animal intensity, and when he appears at the door to Connolly's bedroom, he's every bit as scary as Freddy Krueger. Edgerton excels too, allowing Connolly to build up a clumsy swagger as Whitey builds power. Make no mistake: Within the canon of Boston gangster movies, this one is decidedly of the first order.

SEE IT: Black Mass is rated R. It opens on Friday at most Portland-area cinemas. GRADE A-

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