Black Mass
First screened in October 2015
Director: Scott Cooper. Cast: Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, Rory Cochrane, Jesse Plemons, Benedict Cumberbatch, David Harbour, Kevin Bacon, Adam Scott, Dakota Johnson, Julianne Nicholson, Peter Sarsgaard, Scott Anderson, Brad Carter, Mark Mahoney, Bill Camp, Juno Temple, Corey Stoll, W. Earl Brown, Bill Haims, Mary Klug, Owen Burke, Billy Meleady, David De Beck, Patrick M. Walsh, Marc Carver, Richard Donnelly. Screenplay: Mark Mallouk and Jez Butterworth (based on the book Whitey: The Life of America's Most Notorious Mob Boss by Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill). Twitter Capsule:
Third data-point seals it: Cooper makes handsome shots but flails at POV, gives actors confidence but needs more nuance.
VOR:②
Risk and originality at low ebb even when the basic shot-building is proficient or actors ride to the rescue. Pales before obvious influences and makes too little case for its subject.
