The Outfit – Movie Review
105 Minutes, Rated R
Written and Directed by Graham Moore
**NOTE: this post has been updated now that we actually got the chance to talk about it. BONUS: we talk about Deep Water, as well.**
Synopsis:
An expert tailor must outwit a dangerous group of mobsters in order to survive a fateful night.
The Outfit is director Graham Moore’s feature directorial debut, and boy did he pick a winner.
Oscar-winner Mark Rylance (the best part of Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk) plays the lead in The Outfit, a thriller set in 1956 Chicago at the height of the gangster age.
Leanard Burling is a cutter (not a tailor), trained on Saville Row, who now caters to the seedier elements of the Chicago area to which he moved under somewhat unclear circumstances. Simply desiring to be left to his own devices, he keeps his head down and mouth shut, even as he allows (?) those men of questionable profession to utilize a drop box in his back room to pass unmarked packets of (presumably) cash.
Until one fateful night, Leanard’s life remains simple: measure, cut, sew, finish.
When the son of his oldest customer (and head of the local csrime family) comes in after hours with a gunshot wound, Leonard’s world seemingly starts to come apart at the seams, with a mysterious tape, gang-warfare, and family loyalties and distrust driving the narrative forward.
I don’t want to divulge too much more of the plot, because that is half the fun of watching The Outfit, but the other half of the fun…
The one-set structure (Leonard’s shop) plays beautifully here, a physical echo of Leonard’s ensnarement in the politics of the situation, whether he wants to be or not. It also plays beautifully to Rylance’s stage background, though his performance here is so good, I almost wish we’d have been able to see him moving throughout Chicago as part of a larger story.
But that would probably have removed some of the charm from what we have here, so let’s be glad Moore didn’t go that route.
And speaking of Moore (who also wrote the script), he gives us a plot that feels simple, a small string quartet, if you will, but he orchestrates it like a full orchestra, led by his soloist, Rylance.
And make no mistake, Rylance’s performance is what drives this film forward. From the opening sequence and narration describing a suit and how complex it is, to his nuanced performance as Leonard, who spends the nail-biting night simultaneously planning and improvising his way through the undercurrents of these treacherous Chicago waters.
It would be a crime if, come 2023, this performance is overlooked, seeing as how it has graced our screens before this year’s awards season is even over. It is, quite simply, the first truly Oscar-caliber performance of 2023, and one of the best I’ve seen in the last few years.
**NOTE: ironically, it is easy to consider the idea that The Outfit could have been played as a period-piece comedy instead of the hard-boiled thriller it is. Once more, Graham Moore made the right call.**
See it, then see it again. It’s worth it to experience both the clever storytelling and Mark Rylance’s performance more than once.
The Outfit hits theaters on March 18.
The Outfit stars Mark Rylance, Zoey Deutch, Johnny Flynn, Dylan O’Brien, Nikki Amuka-Bird, and Simon Russell Beale.
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