It’s Johnny Depp’s day at the Venice Film Festival. And judging by early reaction to his performance in gangster drama Black Mass, it may turn out to be Johnny Depp’s year.
A pallid, blonde and balding Johnny is virtually unrecognisable as real-life Boston mobster James Whitey Bulger, who built up a criminal empire while acting as a longtime FBI informant — or “professional criminal consultant,” as one character puts it.
The Hollywood Reporter hailed it as one of Johnny’s best performances, calling him “charismatic … fully convincing and frightening.” Variety said the “mesmerizing” turn was “a bracing return to form” after several underwhelming films.
Hundreds of fans camped beside Venice’s Palace of Cinema Friday, hours before Johnny is due on the red carpet for the world premiere of Scott Cooper’s film.
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