The true story of Whitey Bulger, the brother of a state senator and the most infamous violent criminal in the history of South Boston, who became an FBI informant to take down a Mafia family invading his turf.

Director:

Scott Cooper

Writers:

Mark Mallouk (screenplay), Jez Butterworth (screenplay) | 2 more credits »
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Popularity
2,202 ( 8)
6 wins & 24 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Johnny Depp ... James 'Whitey' Bulger
Joel Edgerton ... John Connolly
Benedict Cumberbatch ... Billy Bulger
Dakota Johnson ... Lindsey Cyr
Kevin Bacon ... FBI Agent Charles McGuire
Peter Sarsgaard ... Brian Halloran
Jesse Plemons ... Kevin Weeks
Rory Cochrane ... Stephen Flemmi
David Harbour ... John Morris
Adam Scott ... FBI Agent Robert Fitzpatrick
Corey Stoll ... Fred Wyshak
Julianne Nicholson ... Marianne Connolly
W. Earl Brown ... John Martorano (as W Earl Brown)
Bill Camp ... John Callahan
Juno Temple ... Deborah Hussey

Johnny Depp Through the Years

Take a look back at Johnny Depp's movie and TV career in photos.

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Storyline

Based on a true story of James "Whitey" Bulger, an Irish Mob godfather and a FBI informant who had a "secret trading" deal with his brother, William "Billy" Bulger, a state senator and a Boston public figure, and John Connolly, an FBI agent. They planned to take down theft Italian mob and mafia in Boston, which went awry and things turned massively violent. When the credence for each other began fading out, drug dealing, murders, and extortion started to rise, and forced the FBI's Boston office to confirm that Whitey Bulger was one of the most notorious criminals in US history and also one of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List criminals. Written by Gusde

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

Based on the true story of one of the most notorious gangsters in U.S. history See more »

Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for brutal violence, language throughout, some sexual references and brief drug use | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

To make sure Johnny Depp's performance was true to the real James "Whitey" Bulger, Scott Cooper hired some of Bulger's old associates as consultants to the film. Each of them praised Depp's performance, saying, "That's Whitey." See more »

Goofs

John and Billy both say that if they could have any baseball player it would be Gary Carter, catcher for Montreal. In 1975, Boston's catcher was Carlton Fisk, who would retire with more home runs than any catcher in history. If the Sox needed to improve any position, it wasn't catcher. Fisk made the Hall of Fame on his second ballot. Carter got in on his sixth ballot. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Kevin Weeks: Before we start, I want you to kow something. I'm not a rat. You understand? I want that on record before we start.
DEA Agent Eric Olsen: Okay. You are not a rat. And it's on record. Mr. Weeks, the charges against you, racketeering, extortion, kidnapping, and accomplice to murder, are very serious. Am I correct in stating that you are here today to make a deal with the federal government?
Kevin Weeks: Correct.
DEA Agent Eric Olsen: And am I correct in stating that you are going from trusted confidant to one of South Boston's most notorious ...
[...]
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Crazy Credits

As the actors are listed, pictures and footage of the real people they portrayed are shown. See more »

Connections

Featured in Half in the Bag: 2015 Re-Cap (So Far) (2015) See more »

Soundtracks

Turn to Stone
Written by Joe Walsh and Terry Trabandt
Performed by Joe Walsh
Courtesy of Geffen Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises
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User Reviews

 
Great crime drama
7 August 2020 | by masonsaulSee all my reviews

Despite it's generic approach to it's story, Black Mass is still a great crime drama that's tense, thrilling and chilling. Johnny Depp gives an incredible lead performance and one of the best performances of his career. Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Kevin Bacon and Corey Stoll all give great supporting performances. Scott Cooper's direction is also great, it's well filmed and extremely well paced. The music by Tom Holkenborg and the soundtrack are both good.


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Frequently Asked Questions

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Details

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 September 2015 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Black Mass See more »

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Box Office

Budget:

$53,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$22,635,037, 20 September 2015

Gross USA:

$62,575,678

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$99,775,678
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Datasat | Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
See full technical specs »

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