The Outfit
review by Bobby Blakey
I love anything dealing with the mob or crime noir types of stories. Writer of the Imitation Game Graham Moore is taking on the genre as both writer and director for his latest film The Outfit starring the always awesome Mark Rylance, Dylan O'Brien, Zoey Deutch, Johnny Flynn, Nikki Amuka-Bird, and Simon Russell Beale. Could this film bring the twists and turns to the mob genre or will it fail to measure up?
The Outfit follows a master English tailor who's ended up in Chicago, and operates a corner tailor shop with his assistant where he makes beautiful clothes for the only people around who can afford them: a family of vicious gangsters. One night, two killers knock on his door in need of a favor - and Leonard is thrust onto the board in a deadly game of deception and murder.
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The trailer to this film looked interesting, but was a bit worried it would drag given its stage play like setting of one location. Thankfully it is just engaging enough and offers up plenty of twists and turns to keep you invested from beginning to end. The story is pretty simple on the surface but thanks to the depth of performances it offers something bigger than you might expect.
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This is an actor’s movie filled with great monologues and performances across the board with the always brilliant Rylance stealing the show. He brings a simple elegance and surface innocence to the role that you can’t help but love and respect. He drives the film even when it appears others are in control. Everyone brings their A game to their roles and creates a story that just works despite not being overly exciting. Sure there are some moments of violence and intensity, but the entirety of the film is all about the acting and interactions of those involved.
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The film is not only well acted, but looks great with its period setting and costume design. Without ever leaving the shop you know everything you need about this time and these people and it never fails to impress. I was really impressed with the film as a whole and how much I ended up enjoying it. Some of it was exactly as I has suspected and others not so much, but even though there are some elements that aren’t overly surprising it still just works.
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I hope this film finds the audience it deserves because it is just so good. Decide for yourself and check out The Outfit available now on digital, Blu-ray and DVD from Focus Features and Universal.
