Depiction of Bulger's Life in The Movie Black Mass

Aiming to bring to attention to Bulger’s crime life, Black Mass lets the viewer to Bulger’s life upon release from a nine-year incarceration. Bulger served prison terms in various penitentiary facilities. The facilities include Alcatraz and Atlanta penitentiary, Leavenworth and Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary. But how did Bulger become a crime boss? Upon his release from custody in 1965 and 1972, Mullen gang had just destroyed Killeen gang, and once they called a truce, Bulger ended up becoming an influential crime boss in Boston. However, the crimes would prove too costly for the 89-year-old Bulger who is currently serving a life sentence for 11 murders committed during his crime life and as a crime boss in Boston. The paper examines the film Black Mass and draws similarities and dissimilarities in the portrayal of Bulger.

In Sep 2015, Bulger, then 86 through his defense attorney protested his portrayal by Johnny Depp’s depiction of his crime life. Through his attorney, Brennan, Bulger argued that Hollywood’s greed led to falsities missing the real scourge. Those close to Bulger have also protested their portrayal as the movie tries to link Bulger’s life with those close to him.

Early scenes narrate Bulger winning a lottery. In real life, the scene happened in a way. In 1991, Michael Linskey bought a winning lottery ticket from a liquor store that cost $14.3 million. Bulger owned the store. An agreement was thereafter signed between Bulger, Linksey and Lindsey’s brother to split the winnings. The act was however interpreted later by a U.S. attorney as a scheme to launder stolen money (Michelle, Masslive).

The protest by Bulger’s attorney is real with Black Mass exaggerating the revelation to Flemmi by Bulger that he is an informant of the FBI. Bulger reasonably explains in a detailed way his involvement with the FBI and persuades Flemmi to see things his way. However, Flemmi joined the ‘dark side’.

The speculation is that Flemmi betrayed Bulger, subsequently leading to Bulger’s compelled co-operation with the FBI. Moreover, it is believed that over 90/5 of the tips originated from Flemmi. However, most of the tips are made look like they came from Bulger by Connolly (Time Black Mass: What it Got Right About Whitey Bulger & the FBI). Connolly, an FBI agent is the officer who is credited with recruiting Bulger as an informant.

According to the Time, the recruitment is fictitious in certain aspects. Whereas it is true that Billy and John were close grew up in together South Boston, the Time points out that Whitney had a condition that his brother was not allowed to know he was the source of information. It is, however, unclear whether the information Bulger gave led to the bringing down of the Italian Mafia (Time Black Mass: What it Got Right About Whitey Bulger & the FBI). In his trial, Bulger insisted he was not an informant and his defense attorney argued that Connolly falsified information to make Bulger look like a valuable asset with the aim of protecting him from the authorities. Bulger later in a documentary with CNN says he used Connolly to get answers (Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger, CNN). A federal investigation indeed showed that Connolly was liable of falsifying some records.

It has also been verified that Bulger indeed was a test subject for an LSD experiment in custody. In the film, the FBI discusses Whitey’s use of LSD to help them make an informed decision on Bulger’s reliability as an informant. In the 1950s, Bulger participated in an LSD test with the hope of a reduced sentence. The CIA wanted to evaluate the suitability of the drug as an interrogation tool.

The death of Whitney’s son and it’s correlation to an increase in violence has been questioned, and whereas it cannot be independently verified, some have argued that it was probably fiction. In reality, Bulger had called for many murders before the death of his son in 1973. In 1973, Bulger’s son succumbed to an adverse reaction to aspirin. In the film, the mother, Dakota, told the Boston Globe that Bulger became colder after this death (Lehr and O’Neil).

Bulger threatening Connolly’s wife has been viewed as a fictitious addition to the film. In the movie, Bulger threatens Marianne Connolly with strangulation. In reality, however, Marianne and John had separated in 1978, filing a divorce thereafter in 1982. In the same breath, it is a reality that Bulger strangled Debora Hussey, based on the testimony of his associate Flemmi. Based on the testimony, Bulger tricked Deborah into his mother’s old home where he strangled her.

The essay has sought to bring to attention scenes that are factual and those that are probably fictitious in the movie Black Mass. It has examined depictions from the movie and real life situations to achieve its objective. The essay has cited dissenting opinions on portrayals of the life of the boss crime notably from his lawyer. Whereas some scenes have been ruled as inaccurate, the essay has concurred with some scenes.