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An ambitious film with a star studded cast, but does Black Mass live up to the hype?
This is a film that I have been wanting to see ever since I saw the first trailer. After months of mediocre films, (albeit a few gems here and there) I saw Black Mass as the beginning of the awards season films, the films I love the most. This film has an astounding cast with star power at every turn. It’s truly amazing how they got such a great cast together. This of course, creates a lot of hype, to have this much star power in a film. But, does it live up to the hype? I love gangster films, and with Black Mass boasting such a great cast and tackling the story of one of the most notorious gangsters in U.S. history, I thought this had the potential to be the best film this year. While Black Mass is a very well made and acted film, compared with the films I’ve seen so far, and my inferences on the films to come, Black Mass will likely be lower on the list of awards than I would have expected. There’s a lot to talk about with this film, so I better get started.
First of all, the scope of this story is massive. There are so many characters and plot lines that it’s surprising to think that this was made into a film, and not a mini-series. This leads me to my first, and main problem with the film. This story is way too much to pack into two hours. There are so many details and aspects in the film that demand to be expanded upon, but unfortunately do not have the time to be expanded upon. There are so many characters in this film that do not get enough screen time, in fact, nearly every character doesn’t get enough development. I am not saying that the characters aren’t well written. I am saying that the characters are very well written, and we see glimpses of characters that we become interested in, but never truly get to see the characters fully develop. When watching the film, with each new character I met I found myself wanting more of that character. You see, Black Mass is very much a film that is focused more on story than character. It’s such a rush to fit the whole story in that there’s no time for full character development, which is disappointing because the great characters are there, they just need more time to develop. The one character that was most developed was that of John Connolly (Joel Edgerton). The audience truly sees a full character arc with this character, and it is very satisfying. If only the other characters could have done the same.
In another sense, the film wastes a lot of great actors. Benedict Cumberbatch, for example, doesn’t get near enough screen time, and never gets to truly show his acting skill in this role. Each actor gives their all in this film, even if they’re on screen for 5 minutes of the film. I wanted to see more from each actor, I wanted to see this powerful cast be utilized to the best of it’s ability. But I instead only saw a glimpse of this cast giving their all. This factor is both a positive point and a negative point for the film. It’s positive in that every performance is spot on in the film, and negative in that we don’t get to see enough of those performances.
I’d like to talk a little about cinematography. The cinematography in this film is very good. At times, the film is cold and grey, showing the coldheartedness of the people the film is about. At other times it is colorful and visually splendid. These two very different visual styles are used perfectly in the film, and never seem out of place. The violence in the film is very realistic. It’s not stylized or romanticized in any way. It’s gritty and disturbing and it’s perfect for the film. The music in Black Mass was also good, but never really blew me away. But, it worked well enough for the film, so I don’t have anything to really complain about.
Black Mass is not a bad film. It has many great things going for it: a fantastic cast, good production values, and great performances all around. But, even with these great things going for it, it’s impossible to overlook the major flaws in story. Although it successfully tells the story, it does so without giving development to hardly any of the characters. But, I was entertained enough for two hours, and the performances certainly made it worth while, so I’m going to give Black Mass a
An ambitious film with a star studded cast, but does Black Mass live up to the hype?
This is a film that I have been wanting to see ever since I saw the first trailer. After months of mediocre films, (albeit a few gems here and there) I saw Black Mass as the beginning of the awards season films, the films I love the most. This film has an astounding cast with star power at every turn. It’s truly amazing how they got such a great cast together. This of course, creates a lot of hype, to have this much star power in a film. But, does it live up to the hype? I love gangster films, and with Black Mass boasting such a great cast and tackling the story of one of the most notorious gangsters in U.S. history, I thought this had the potential to be the best film this year. While Black Mass is a very well made and acted film, compared with the films I’ve seen so far, and my inferences on the films to come, Black Mass will likely be lower on the list of awards than I would have expected. There’s a lot to talk about with this film, so I better get started.
First of all, the scope of this story is massive. There are so many characters and plot lines that it’s surprising to think that this was made into a film, and not a mini-series. This leads me to my first, and main problem with the film. This story is way too much to pack into two hours. There are so many details and aspects in the film that demand to be expanded upon, but unfortunately do not have the time to be expanded upon. There are so many characters in this film that do not get enough screen time, in fact, nearly every character doesn’t get enough development. I am not saying that the characters aren’t well written. I am saying that the characters are very well written, and we see glimpses of characters that we become interested in, but never truly get to see the characters fully develop. When watching the film, with each new character I met I found myself wanting more of that character. You see, Black Mass is very much a film that is focused more on story than character. It’s such a rush to fit the whole story in that there’s no time for full character development, which is disappointing because the great characters are there, they just need more time to develop. The one character that was most developed was that of John Connolly (Joel Edgerton). The audience truly sees a full character arc with this character, and it is very satisfying. If only the other characters could have done the same.
In another sense, the film wastes a lot of great actors. Benedict Cumberbatch, for example, doesn’t get near enough screen time, and never gets to truly show his acting skill in this role. Each actor gives their all in this film, even if they’re on screen for 5 minutes of the film. I wanted to see more from each actor, I wanted to see this powerful cast be utilized to the best of it’s ability. But I instead only saw a glimpse of this cast giving their all. This factor is both a positive point and a negative point for the film. It’s positive in that every performance is spot on in the film, and negative in that we don’t get to see enough of those performances.
I’d like to talk a little about cinematography. The cinematography in this film is very good. At times, the film is cold and grey, showing the coldheartedness of the people the film is about. At other times it is colorful and visually splendid. These two very different visual styles are used perfectly in the film, and never seem out of place. The violence in the film is very realistic. It’s not stylized or romanticized in any way. It’s gritty and disturbing and it’s perfect for the film. The music in Black Mass was also good, but never really blew me away. But, it worked well enough for the film, so I don’t have anything to really complain about.
Black Mass is not a bad film. It has many great things going for it: a fantastic cast, good production values, and great performances all around. But, even with these great things going for it, it’s impossible to overlook the major flaws in story. Although it successfully tells the story, it does so without giving development to hardly any of the characters. But, I was entertained enough for two hours, and the performances certainly made it worth while, so I’m going to give Black Mass a