Any ill will Johnny Depp brought upon himself with last year’s Austin Powers reboot (that is what it was, right?) Mortdecai just might disappear with the new trailer for Black Mass.
Depp leads an all-star cast—including a mustachioed Adam Scott—in this adaptation of the 2001 book Black Mass: The True Story Of An Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob by Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neill. In the film, Depp portrays Whitey Bulger, the organized crime kingpin who at one time was second only to Osama Bin Laden on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.
The two-minute clip plays up mob movie tropes as Depp’s Bulger and David Harbour’s John Morris enjoy a big meal and discuss secret family recipes while a period-appropriate rock tune plays in the background. Depp appears to be acting this time around and not letting his makeup do all the work, coming off as both charming and menacing as Bulger (although those ice-blue contacts to seem to be carrying some of the load).
Director Scott Cooper, who received accolades for Out Of The Furnace and Crazy Heart, plays with the audience’s expectations, twisting the famous “How am I funny scene?” from Goodfellas to create an uneasy mixture of tension and meta-comedy. He does, however, appear to be keeping the Scorsese fetishism to a minimum with the more restrained camerawork featured prominently in the trailer. (Cooper must be well aware that, by making a mob movie set in the ’70s, comparisons to Goodfellas and Casino will be plentiful.)
Rounding out the cast are Benedict Cumberbatch, Kevin Bacon, Dakota Johnson, and James Russo as Scott Garriola, one of the FBI agents who finally took down Bulger.
Black Mass is slated for release on September 18th, 2015.