A deceptively clever period crime drama, director Graham Moore’s The Outfit is a slow burn mesmeriser. Set in Chicago in 1956, all the action takes place at the premises of a bespoke tailor.
Leonard (Mark Rylance) is a well-spoken, nondescript British “cutter” who takes great pride and pleasure in his work. His narrative about what goes into making a suit underlines the piece. Rolls of fabric, tape, chalk and cutter’s shears are prominent throughout. The shop also employs a receptionist, Mable (Zoey Deutch), who dreams of travelling to Europe. While she and Leonard go about their business, the place is a front for Irish mob boss Roy Boyle (Simon Russell Beale). He uses the premises as a stash house for dirty money. Boyle’s son Richie (Dylan O’Brien) and chief enforcer Francis (Johnny Flynn) visit the shop daily.
Richie is nonplussed that he has to play second fiddle to Francis, who once put his life on the line for Boyle. One day the pair make their way into the place in desperation, Richie having just been shot in the abdomen. It is only some deft craftsmanship from Leonard that helps save him. Mind you, it is all downhill from there, as a stool pigeon in their midst has ratted them out. Behind the goings-on is a turf war, but the primary focus is on the tailor and, to a lesser extent, the receptionist, whose lives are on the line.
Written by Moore (The Imitation Game) and Johnathan McClain, The Outfit features a whip smart script. Its minimalist setting gives it the feel of a play. I could well see the action unfolding on stage.
Much of the credit for the movie’s success lies in the measured performance of Mark Rylance as the unflappable cutter. Leonard’s ability to remain calm under pressure and to “read” people and delicate situations is what elevates The Outfit above the ordinary. Rylance displays spectacular restraint inhabiting Leonard’s razor-sharp mind. I also appreciated the feistiness in Zoey Deutch. She comes across as a character with much life to live, while Leonard is someone who has been there and done that. As Francis, Johnny Flynn is mercenary, while Dylan O’Brien playing opposite him as Richie is a hothead, still wet behind the ears.
Clearly nothing is as it first appears in The Outfit. It’s the better off for that fact as a series of spectacular reveals late in the piece really sets the cat among the pigeons. There’s much to appreciate and savour in this picture if you stick with it.
Alex First
Other reviews you might enjoy:
- Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love – movie review (documentary)
- Beast – movie review
- Last Christmas – movie review
Alex First is a Melbourne based journalist and communications specialist. He contributes to The Blurb on film and theatre.