History Film / BlackMass

* VillainProtaganist: Whitey Bulger of course. And a horribly evil villain at that, who's pretty much ''only'' redeeming value is that he does seem to care about his close family members.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Whitey is so evil he is almost reptilian, but even he is grossed out by the fact that Flemmi is dating his stepdaughter, who called him "Daddy" when she was a child. Whitey eventually kills her when he's lead to believe she's in with the F.B.I.
* FauxAffablyEvil: Bulger is at least flirting with this trope in the start of the movie, but embraces it more fully as time goes on.

* AffablyEvil: Whitey is quite charming at times.

* BasedOnATrueStory: A broadly accurate version of the rise and fall of Whitey Bulger.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: The portrayal of Robert Fitzpatrick is that of a straight hero, while the real Fitzpatrick was eventually convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice in relation to the case against Bulger and it was found that much of his story, including facing retaliation for trying to blow the whistle on Bulger, was made up.

* Cluster F-Bomb: Considering it takes place in Boston the very liberal usage of the word fuck by almost every character is not surprising. There's 254 uses of fuck in total.

* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: The standard graphics at the end noting the fates of all the characters. Bulger was caught in 2011 after 16 years on the run and was convicted of murder. Connolly was convicted of 2nd degree murder in the death of Halloran and was sentenced to 40 years.

* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: The standard graphics at the end noting the fates of all the characters. Bulger was caught in 2011 after 16 years on the run and was convicted of murder. Connolly was convicted of 2nd degree murder in the death of Halloran and was sentenced to 40 years.
* WhatTheHellIsThatAccent: Benedict Cumberbatch's gifts as an actor are many, but they do not include the ability to reproduce a Boston accent.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Whitey is so evil he is almost reptilian, but even he is grossed out by the fact that Flemmi is dating his stepdaughter, who called him "Daddy" when she was a child.

->''"Martyrs are exceptional people. They survive pain, they survive total deprivation. They bear all the sins of the earth. They give themselves up. They transcend themselves... they are transfigured."''
-->-- '''Mademoiselle'''

* HistoricalVillainDowngrade: According to Kevin Weeks, the portrayal of Flemmi was this. "Stevie wasn’t all sympathetic, mourning, and sorrowful like he is in the movie. Stevie ''enjoyed'' murder." [http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/09/20/whitey-bulger-s-enforcer-slams-black-mass-the-movie-is-pure-fiction.html]

* HistoricalVillainDowngrade: According to Kevin Weeks, the portrayal of Flemmi was this. "Stevie wasn’t all sympathetic, mourning, and sorrowful like he is in the movie. Stevie ''enjoyed'' murder." []http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/09/20/whitey-bulger-s-enforcer-slams-black-mass-the-movie-is-pure-fiction.html

''Black Mass'' is the RealLife story of infamous Boston crime kingpin Whitey Bulger. The story starts in 1975 with James "Whitey" Bulger (Depp) already the chief of the Irish mob in south UsefulNotes/{{Boston}}. Bulger's Winter Hill gang is fighting a turf war with the Angiulo Brothers, an Italian crime gang which is trying to muscle out Bulger's gang in order to take control of organized crime in Boston. FBI Agent John Connally (Edgerton) a native of Boston and friend of Bulger since childhood, comes up with an idea: Bulger will inform on the Italian mafia for Connally, which will allow Connally to bust the Italians and will make things easier for Bulger. Eventually Connally does bust the Italian mob in Boston, but in the process gets in way too deep with Bulger, protecting him from prosecution and effectively becoming Bulger's mole within the FBI as Bulger becomes the most notorious gangster in Boston history.

* ConflictingLoyalty: Connally never does seem to figure out that being pals with Whitey Bulger does not work well with being an FBI agent.
* DirtyCop: No cops are actually shown taking bribes, but Connally winds up in Bulger's pocket. There's also a beat cop who delivers messages to Bulger on behalf of the Italian mob.

* GrayRainOfDepression: When Connally comes home to find out that his wife has changed the locks, it's pouring rain.

* TheInformant: Whitey pretends to be one, but other than tipping Connally to the location of the Italian mafia's headquarters, he never tells the FBI anything they don't already know. Connally later turns away a real informant who wanted to tell the FBI about Bulger's responsibility for the Wheeler murder. Whitey later murders [=McIntyre=], a real informant who tipped the FBI to Whitey's involvement in the arms smuggling to the IRA.

* TheMafia: The regular old Italian mafia, fighting Bulger for control of crime in Boston, and losing, thanks to the assist of Connally and the FBI.

* TheMole: Bulger isn't much of one, as it turns out almost everything he told the FBI was stuff they already knew[[note]]It's implied that Connally simply took archived testimony from other informants and re-submitted them under Bulger's file to make his operation look better[[/note]]. Connally eventually becomes a much straighter example of a mole, as he winds up being Bulger's man inside the Bureau.

* WhatTheHellHero: Connally's wife Marianne tells him that he might be getting in too deep with Bulger. Then she tells him again, more forcefully, when Connally actually has Bulger over for dinner. After Connally doesn't listen, and after Bulger threatens her directly, Marianne divorces Connally.
* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: The standard graphics at the end noting the fates of all the characters. Bulger was caught in 2011 after 16 years on the run and was convicted of murder. Connally was convicted of 2nd degree murder in the death of Halloran and was sentenced to 40 years.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Whitey is so evil he is almost reptilian, but even he is grossed out by the fact that Flemmi is datng his stepdaughter, who called him "Daddy" when she was a child.
* FramingDevice: Bulger's henchment Flemmi and Weeks being interviewed by the feds, tellling all about Bulger's criminal history. The ending reveals that they are doing this only after Bulger has skipped town.

* TheMole: Bulger isn't much of one, as it turns out almost everything he told the FBI was stuff they already knew. Connally eventually becomes a much straighter example of a mole, as he winds up being Bulger's man inside the Bureau.

* WhatTheHellHero: Connally's wife Marianne tells him that he might be getting in too deep with Bulger. Then she tells him again, more forcefully, when Connally actually has Bulger over for dinner. After Connally doesn't listen, and after Bulger threans her directly, Marianne divorces Connally.

* DetectiveMole: Seemingly, Connolly doesn't intentionally set out to become this, but he does, informing Bulger about the FBI investigation of him, stonewalling FBI investigation of Bulger, and eventually giving Whitey the warning to skip town.

* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: The standard graphics at the end noting the fates of all the characters. Bulger was caught in 2011 after 16 years on the run and was convicted of murder. Connally was convicted of 2nd degree murder in the death of Halloran and was sentenced to 40 years.