Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger

Name: Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger
Genre: Biography, Crime, Documentary
Released: June 27, 2014
Duration: 107 min
Rating: 71

2014

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Generally favorable reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 12 Ratings

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7.3

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7.3	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 12 Ratings

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Whitey: United States Of America V. James J. Bulger

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Movie Details & Credits

Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: June 27, 2014 | R

Summary: Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger follows the trial of the infamous gangster James “Whitey” Bulger, using the courtroom action as a springboard to examine accusations of multi-faceted corruption within our nation’s law enforcement and legal systems. Throughout this violent and sordid story, the central question becomes theWhitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger follows the trial of the infamous gangster James “Whitey” Bulger, using the courtroom action as a springboard to examine accusations of multi-faceted corruption within our nation’s law enforcement and legal systems. Throughout this violent and sordid story, the central question becomes the nature of Whitey's relationship with law enforcement. Was Bulger an informant, as everyone believes, or, as Bulger's lawyers claim, is there actual proof that this claim is yet more misinformation and obfuscation by the government in an attempt to protect itself and preserve its convictions?… Expand

Director: Joe Berlinger

Genre(s): Biography, Crime, Documentary

Rating: R

Runtime: 107 min

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Critic Reviews

100

The Playlist Drew Taylor

Mar 27, 2014

What makes Joe Berlinger’s riveting new true crime doc Whitey: The United States vs. James J. Bulger such an eye-opener is that it isn’t just about a bad guy who did bad things, but the layers of corruption and moral ambiguity that stacked up on both side of the law. Read full review

IndieWire Steve Greene

Mar 27, 2014

Although Berlinger’s latest work is a dense, unsparing look at the offenses and trial of Whitey Bulger, it's equally concerned with capturing how the many members of Bulger's expansive web -- criminals and innocent citizens alike -- use their experiences to control their version of the man. Read full review

Peter Rainer

Jul 11, 2014

Berlinger is after more than a true crime recounting here – the film attempts to explain, often lucidly, sometimes laboriously, how deeply entrenched Bulger was with the FBI and the police. Read full review

A.A. Dowd

Jun 25, 2014

Provides little in the way of comforting catharsis. That may be because Berlinger, a thorough and impassioned muckraker, has managed to find hints of injustice in the justice that was served. Read full review

Betsy Sharkey

Jul 11, 2014

Joe Berlinger's densely detailed new documentary about the legendary Boston mobster is disturbing on so many levels it's hard not to wonder why Bulger was the only one on trial. Read full review

Stephanie Zacharek

Jun 24, 2014

Berlinger covers lots of territory, including heartrending accounts from the family members of some of Bulger's victims. The whole exercise is fascinating, if vaguely unsatisfying. Read full review

The Guardian Leslie Felperin

Oct 25, 2015

Dense thickets of information, told via rostrum-shot photos and documents plus angry mob’s worth of witnesses, become a grind after a while, as does the trite guitar-led mystery music. Read full review

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User Reviews

homerbaldman

Jun 28, 2014

Of course the movie is interesting, when you look at the number of books written about Bulger you can tell the public loves this guy, well at least they like hearing about the things he did. But the movie did come up short in one respect: the writer at the end hit it right on the head whenOf course the movie is interesting, when you look at the number of books written about Bulger you can tell the public loves this guy, well at least they like hearing about the things he did. But the movie did come up short in one respect: the writer at the end hit it right on the head when he said that they could've indicted 12 FBI agents, where are they? I think an Errol Morris would've dug a little deeper, it couldn't been that hard to find the agents under suspicion and at least ask a question or two on camera. Not too deep but quite riveting at times.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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