This twisted crime drama is now streaming on Netflix

Shortly before controversy completely derailed his successful acting career, Johnny Depp played the role of Irish mafia boss James “Whitey” Bulger in a fascinating biographical crime film. Based on the 2001 book by Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neill Black Mass: The true story of an unholy alliance between the FBI and the Irish Mafiathe movie Black mass follows Whitey as he forms an unusual alliance with the FBI to help take down the Italian Mafia.

Stream now on Netflix, Black mass features an impressive ensemble cast, including Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Kevin Bacon, Jesse Plemons, Dakota Johnson, Adam Scott, Corey Stoll, David Harbour, Juno Temple and Bill Camp.

Director: Scott Cooper (The pale blue eye), Black mass has a respectable 73% on Rotten Tomatoes, with many critics praising Depp’s performance in particular. In his review for The AtlanticChristopher Orr called Depp’s leading role “a welcome change from the parade of prancing pseudo-villains – Mortdecai, the Wolf, Barnabas Collins, Jack Sparrow, Willy Wonka – to which he has devoted far too much of his career.”

Although it didn’t make our list of most anticipated Netflix movies for September, Black mass is worth watching if you fancy a well-acted crime drama.

Of course, that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to great crime shows on Netflix. Here’s just a selection of some of the other great crime content on the streamer:

And there is more on the way, including American Gangster on September 16th.