Starring: Johnny Depp & Joel Edgerton

This is the true story of infamous criminal Whitey Bulger, while his brother Bill (Benedict Cumberbatch) remains a powerful leader in the Massachusetts Senate, Irish hoodlum James “Whitey” Bulger (Johnny Depp) continues to pursue a life of crime in 1970s Boston.

Approached by childhood friend and FBI agent John Connolly (Joel Edgerton), the lawman convinces Whitey to help the agency fight the Italian mob. As their unholy alliance spirals out of control, Bulger increases his power and evades capture to become one of the most dangerous gangsters in U.S. history.

Review

“The Chairman” – This how you to get into Oscar consideration, undergo an extreme physical transformation and get lost in the character you are portraying. This is how Johnny Depp got the nomination for playing Jack Sparrow and I see the same scenario playing out for his portrayal of Whitey Bulger.

Excellent and scary performance from Johnny, and lets not discount the director’s (Scott Cooper) influence contribution. Hopefully this is a revival in the quality of performances we get from Mr Depp.

The movie itself was ok, just ok…..nothing too memorable other than the performance of Johnny. The storytelling is predictable, and the slow pacing of the movie doesn’t help this. I have to say that the cast really committed to the Boston accent, especially the Brit (Benedict)and Aussie (Joel) sound straight out South Boston but their abilities are wasted here otherwise.

If you are familiar with the Whitey Bulger story or a fan of good Johnny Depp performance, this could be an interesting watch. It’s a rental, if that! 5.3/10

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