| This is a dark and brooding gangster film with a lot of violence and a lead performance from Johnny Depp playing the epitome of evil, rather than a human being.
It is based on a true life Bostonian Jimmy ‘Whitey’ Bulger and Depp, wearing a false forehead with receding hairline, makes him a menacing psychopath no-one could ever be comfortable with. Even when he is in cheery form he could switch in a moment to a murderous mood, and his actions eventually turn his associates against him. This isn’t giving anything away because the film starts with Kevin Weeks (Jesse Plemons), formerly a close associate, opening up to the police. The story is then told in a series of flashbacks.
FBI Agent John Connolly (Joel Edgerton) has known Bulger since childhood, and he comes up with a scheme to help everyone – his plan is that the FBI will leave Bulger alone to do mostly what he likes, in return for information helping the FBI to pin down Bulger’s rival gangsters. Connolly may or may not really think this is a suitable approach, but it doesn’t take long for things to turn sour, with Bulger out of control and Connolly increasingly implicated in criminality.
Connolly’s boss Charles McGuire (Kevin Bacon) goes along with the scheme though he becomes increasingly uneasy – the FBI get just about enough out of it to keep the setup alive.
Bulger is a truly nasty and dangerous piece of work, and eventually Connolly is shown to be not much better though he avoids getting his hands dirty.
Things start to go awry with the appointment of a new official Fred Wyshak (Corey Stoll) who is pretty clearly not sympathetic to any co-operation with the dark side.
It’s gripping throughout if you are not put off by Depp’s odd appearance, and Bulger and Connolly are memorable villains. Benedict Cumberbatch has an effective role, less showy than his usual, as Bulger's brother Billy, a senator.
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