Diksha Sundriyal
In 2015’s ‘Black Mass,’ the city of Boston becomes a main character in the story of James “Whitey” Bulger, who becomes one of the most feared and infamous gangsters of his time. The film focuses on the change in Bulger’s life and crime with the arrival of FBI Agent John Connolly. Due to his childhood connection to Bulger, Connolly thinks about turning him into an informant and getting the other gangs in the city out of the streets. Bulger also wants the same, but to increase his own power in the area. He is ready to do whatever it takes to do that, even if it means crossing state lines to kill someone. A couple of scenes in the movie transport the audience to Miami, Florida, where Bulger’s murderous streak continues while a Cuban restaurant emerges as one of the significant locations.
La Linterna is an Entirely Fictional Place in Black Mass
While most of the events in ‘Black Mass’ take place in Boston, certain scenes are set in Miami. These scenes feature Bulger’s criminal empire expanding as he kills more people. The Cuban cafe La Linterna appears in the movie, supposedly located on Miami Beach. In real life, there is no cafe with that name in Miami. Interestingly, the film’s crew didn’t even leave Boston to create the vibe of Miami.
Black Mass (Johnny Depp) has temporally turned Revere Beach into Miami Beach & a pizza place into a Cuban restaurant. pic.twitter.com/G3knkQl07V
— The Boston Calendar (@TheBostonCal) July 9, 2014
The scenes concerning La Linterna and Miami Beach were filmed at Revere Beach, a few miles north of downtown Boston, Massachusetts. A place called Pizza Kitchen, located at 76 Revere Beach Boulevard, was taken over by the crew and completely transformed, making it look like a Cuban cafe in Florida. In July 2014, the cast and crew of the film were spotted on Revere Beach. The transformation of the place included planting fake palm trees and cabanas and even removing rocks from the beach. Director of Photography Masanobu Takayanagi revealed that he “tried to emphasize the color with the lighting, especially in the nightclub sequence where [he] used strobes” to add a unique look to the scene and make it seem like the characters have left their familiar setting of Boston.
Pizza Kitchen received a similar treatment, wherein it received a more Florida-beachy vibe, one that would soon turn into blood and mayhem. This is where Bulger decides to embark on a new adventure by getting into Jai Alai after killing Roger Wheeler for John Callahan. It is in La Linterna that the deal is made, pushing Bulger’s story in a whole new direction. While ‘Black Mass’ made it famous, Pizza Kitchen has since been permanently closed. Still, the fans of the movie can easily spot the place it used to be and where the movie was filmed pretty easily.
Read More: John Martorano is Now Leading a Quiet Post-Prison Life
