Shortly before controversies completely derailed his thriving acting career, Johnny Depp starred in an intriguing biographical crime film as Irish mob boss James “Whitey” Bulger. Based on Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neill’s 2001 book Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob, the movie Black Mass follows Whitey as he forms an unlikely alliance with the FBI to help take down the Italian mob.
Now streaming on Netflix, Black Mass features an impressive ensemble cast that includes Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Kevin Bacon, Jesse Plemons, Dakota Johnson, Adam Scott, Corey Stoll, David Harbour, Juno Temple, and Bill Camp.
Directed by Scott Cooper (The Pale Blue Eye), Black Mass is sitting at a respectable 73% on Rotten Tomatoes, with many critics praising Depp’s performance, in particular. In his review for The Atlantic, Christopher Orr called Depp’s starring role “a welcome respite from the parade of prancing pseudo-villains—Mortdecai, the Wolf, Barnabas Collins, Jack Sparrow, Willy Wonka—to which he has devoted far too much of his career.”
Although it didn’t make our list of most anticipated Netflix movies for September, Black Mass is worth the watch if you’re in the mood for a well-acted crime drama.
Of course, that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to great crime dramas on Netflix. Here is just a sampling of some of the other great crime content on the streamer:
- This nerve-shredding true crime doc just rocketed to #1 on Netflix
- We just got good news about one of Netflix’s most popular true-crime docuseries
- 5 of Netflix’s grittiest, must-watch crime series that I can’t recommend enough
There’s even more on the way as well, including American Gangster on September 16.
