After winning an Oscar for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay for his work on The Imitation Game (an eight-time nominee), what to do next was an important question for Graham Moore. Winning an Oscar gives you a certain amount of clout. Moore smartly used that gift and parlayed that into making his directorial debut for his next script, The Outfit.
The film finds Leonard, a Chicago tailor (played impeccably by Mark Rylance), trapped in his shop having to outwit a group of mobsters in order to survive to see the sunrise. Among them are Richie (Dylan O’Brien) and Francis (Johnny Flynn), and the latter is a “family business” man who has devoted his adult life to this family. The former, Richie, he’s the son of “the boss” and Francis may not agree with his partner on everything.
Someone has been telling anyone who will listen about the family’s plans. That was exactly what occurred this evening and it resulted in bullets flying, cops in pursuit and generally, a well-crafted plan sent directly to hell. When you-know-what hits the fan, they were near Leonard’s place and Richie knew that the man who makes all their suits would be up late working. Sure enough, that’s exactly where Leonard was and making a suit was what he was doing.
An actress who has truly impressed us in everything she appears in is Zoey Deutch (she stole an entire movie from huge stars in Zombieland: Double Tap). She stars as Mable, Leonard’s assistant. Even though it is after hours, she had a feeling that something wasn’t right and headed down to the shop in the middle of the night. There, secrets will be revealed, a double-cross will be uncovered and in the midst of it all is a wise tailor, who might just find a way to stitch together a plan for him and Mable.
As a mob movie, The Outfit is quite decent. It’s best not to compare every gangster movie that comes down the pike to films that will arguably go down as some of the best movies ever made—such as The Godfather and Goodfellas. Where it works, and largely belongs—genre-wise—is the thriller. This is a psychological joyride where the mind games are on high alert and even though everyone is jovial, after all, they all know each other and well, there is a riveting tension at its core that makes the film engrossing.
Rylance is mesmerizing. When isn’t the actor? Since he won his Oscar for Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies, audiences have discovered this English actor—who prior to that film was primarily known as one of the top-tier theater actors of his generation. Now, films have kept him busy and it is to our benefit. What he does in The Outfit is do so much by saying so little. We know this man, even though he doesn’t give us all that much backstory—just enough—and there is little the audience is keyed in about his personal life, other than he loves what he does. He’s also “wicked smart,” to quote Good Will Hunting for no reason. That becomes evident immediately and is crystal clear by the conclusion of the film. What can’t Rylance do?
Deutch is always delightful, but her character is not given much to do—even if she plays an enormous puzzle piece to this intriguing puzzler. She does the most with what she is given. Her Mable is absolutely a three-dimensional character, it’s not like Moore doesn’t know how to write roles for women. Honestly, it’s simply the part. She is meant to be that puzzle piece, work with and really know Leonard. That mentoring-type relationship between the tailor and Mabel works with the performances of both Deutch and Rylance, to the point where they really need to speak without speaking at times during this anxious standoff.
Even though the role might not be to all of his fans’ favorite, O’Brien shows why he is one of his generation’s most exciting talents. He commands as a gangster, who might just be in the family business for that reason only—family. His father is the city’s big wig and what else was the lad going to do with his life. As O’Brien plays him, he is a reluctant gangster and that truly gets under the skin of Francis. He also has a love interest that is alluded to but truly comes into play as things get intense inside the tailor’s shop.
Making your directorial debut can be incredibly stressful and at times, it can be felt through the film by the audience. Moore never once exhibits that type of storytelling. He is as sure of himself as if he has been wielding a camera his entire life. There is a command of filmmaking that has us thinking this is a moviemaker who has been doing this for years. Building and employing suspense is not an easy task for a helmer. It is one that Moore does effortlessly, and that could be because he first envisioned it as the film’s writer. He knows these scenes inside and out and even the backstory that sits only in his head, Moore is able to convey to his actors—further enhancing their performance.
The film would have also worked as a play, and often times those films are more intense than the ones that contain large explosions and massive sets. There is something about the simmering of suspense that makes the thriller one of my favorite genres of the art of filmmaking. The thing about it feeling like it could be a stage play is there is an immediacy to it, that only further reinforces the urgency of this night. It is a feeling that one feels through the screen.
Grade: B+