Courtesy Warner Bros.- La Biennale di Venezia
Venice Lido: 72nd Film Festival –
Scott Cooper – Black Mass. In 70s South Boston, FBI Agent John Connolly
persuades Irish mobster James “Whitey” Bulger to collaborate with the FBI and
eliminate a common enemy: the Italian mob. The drama tells the true story of
this unholy alliance, which spiraled out of control, allowing Whitey to evade
law enforcement, consolidate power, and become one of the most ruthless and
powerful gangsters in Boston history.
Staring: Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, Benedict
Cumberbatch, Rory Cochrane, Jesse Plemons, Dakota Johnson, Peter Sarsgaard,
Kevin Bacon.
Photographs ASAC courtesy La Biennale di Venezia
#Venezia72 - Red Carpet - Johnny Depp and fans
Courtesy Warner Bros.- La Biennale di Venezia
Scott Cooper - Black Mass
Photographs ASAC courtesy La Biennale di Venezia
#Venezia72 - Red Carpet - Amber Heard and Johnny Depp
Courtesy Warner Bros.- La Biennale di Venezia
Scott Cooper
Director’s Statement – Scott Cooper. “When
I first decided to direct black mass, I did so with much trepidation. After
all, many of my favorite films lived in the crime genre in which black mass
would live. So to say that the bar was high and the challenge formidable was an
understatement. But the players (two brothers: one a notorious criminal, the
other a high-powered and highly feared politician, and their childhood friend:
a fast-rising FBI Special Agent in Charge), the chilling true story of the mean
streets of South Boston during the 1970’s and beyond, and the central question
“Can you ever really leave your past behind?” was simply too much to pass up.
The past of our central players (shackled by the bonds of brotherhood and
loyalty) colliding in a deadly and violent fashion led not only to the largest
scandal in FBI history, but led to the feared place where criminals and lawmen
would become virtually indistinguishable. Truth, as it related to James
“Whitey” Bulger, his brother, Billy, and their childhood friend, John Connolly,
was much richer and much stranger than fiction. In the end, I realized that the
challenge was not to be compared to the many wonderful crime films that have
greatly influenced me, but to be compared to the many wonderful human films
that have influenced and inspired me. I had no interest in dramatizing a world
in which criminals happened to be humans, but had great interest in dramatizing
a world in which humans happened to be criminals.”
#Venezia72
Scott Cooper – Black Mass
Contessanally – Depp certainly acts – 8/10
