Whitey: The United States V. James J. Bulger

August 15 – 20
Whitey: The United States V. James J. Bulger
Fri 8/15 9:00; Sun 8/17 5:00; Mon 8/18 9:00; Tue 8/19 6:30; Wed 8/20 6:30
Dir: Joe Berlinger / 2014 / US / 107 min / DCP

James “Whitey” Bulger was one of the most notorious criminals of our time. A top mob leader, he and his cohorts kept the city of Boston in a death-grip of murder and mayhem until his surprise capture in 2011. In Joe Berlinger’s (Paradise Lost) absorbing documentary, the shocking story of this infamous figure, who was the template for the Frank Costello character in The Departed, is revealed through interviews with past associates, victim’s family members, and others involved in the dirty business that ranged from heavy handed extortion to brutal murder. This disturbing study also delves into the legal controversy that spiraled around Bulger’s trial, bringing to question the government’s role in terrible crimes that may have been enabled by informants. Scott Foundas of Variety says, “Whitey” emerges as yet another of Berlinger’s gripping, irony-laced snapshots of the American criminal justice system.”