Not a Wasted Frame To Be Found
Certainly smaller in scale, first time director Graham Moore’s chamber piece “The Outfit” owes a great deal to “The Godfather” films. Dark and brooding in spots, calculating and crackling in others, it is more of a psychological thriller than sweeping epic. Taking place over the course of a single night in mostly one room, it is a slow burn type of affair with multiple (but not too many) twists and turns and absolutely no red herrings. In the best way possible, it teases the audience and is thoroughly lacking in narrative fat.
Mark Rylance stars as Leonard, an outwardly unassuming craftsman who designs high end men’s clothing. Referred to a few times by others as a “tailor,” he calls himself a “cutter,” a man who honed his trade while apprenticing at Mayfair, London’s Savile Row, a collective of shops considered by most to be the finest of their kind in the world. Why Leonard is now based in Chicago and not London isn’t addressed until late in the third act and provides the story with perhaps its biggest revelation.
The Envious Co-worker
A silver-spoon type with a misguided, privileged attitude, Richie isn’t exactly a dim bulb, but he certainly wouldn’t be where he is without Roy’s protection—points not lost on the far more talented, calculating, and jealous Francis. As he is beyond dedicated to Roy, Francis tolerates Richie’s shortcomings, but only out of professional necessity.
From the Oscar-Winning Writer of ‘The Imitation Game’
Also a novelist, Moore was bestowed the Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award for “The Imitation Game,” the fact-based World War II story of British cryptographers attempting to crack the German “Enigma” messaging system. Rarely do first-time screenwriters snag such an honor, and it didn’t come as a surprise to anyone that Moore’s second feature would also include him assuming the director’s chair.
Co-written by Moore and actor and slam-poet Johnathan McClain, “The Outfit” marks a new, welcomed direction for organized crime films. Art and subtlety is valued here over titillation and blood splatter. In the interest of full disclosure, there are four brief scenes featuring violence (two of which are handled off-screen or implied) but none are gratuitous and are present solely to propel the narrative.
Without giving anything whatsoever away, the filmmakers introduce an ingenious MacGuffin (or “plot coupon”) at the start which is revisited many times and is of interest to every character in some form or fashion. It is a most excellent example of storytelling subterfuge and misdirection.
Rylance’s First High-Profile Leading Role
Rylance has played the lead in previous movies, but they were few and far-between and usually in films which rarely enjoyed theatrical releases in the United States outside of New York and Los Angeles. “The Outfit” will likely be the first time most American audiences have a chance to see Rylance in action while not doing so within someone else’s shadow and it is an understated revelation. This is what acting is all about.We’re not quite a quarter way through 2022 and by the time next year’s awards season begins, Rylance’s performance and the film itself could be too far back in the rearview mirror for most voters to remember. At this point, however, Rylance’s methodical, sly turn and this movie are the best yet of 2022.
