Leonard (Mark Rylance) is an expert cutter – not a tailor – and runs a bespoke suit shop in Chicago.  He minds his business as men from a local gang come and go to deposit money in a black box at the back of his store, but one night when Francis (Johnny Flynn) comes in with a wounded Richie (Dylan O’Brien), Leonard will find it increasingly difficult to remain neutral as a turf war begins to break out around his shop. 

The Outfit, directed by Graham Moore and written with Johnathan McClain, is a twisting crime thriller released by Focus Features. Despite the small cast, single location, and mostly single night, the film tells a deeply involved and evolving story that requires everyone to be on their toes as they form – and break – alliances with each other to ensure they can all survive to see the dawn.  The battle of wits is what drives most of the film, and thankfully the script has plenty of surprises along the way to keep the narrative moving. With a lean runtime of 105 minutes, the film never slows down, and even in the sequences that feel like filler, the script is carefully laying the groundwork for the twists to come. 

Rylance is at the heart of the film and portrays Leonard with such care and compassion in the cold world.  His realization that he must begin to lie in order to survive is extremely captivating and he handles the role of the kindly old-timer very well as if the role was tailor-made for him.  He is present in almost every scene of the film, and even during the first act when he is very meek and mild, he does not fade into the background.  His soothing voiceover is what opens the film, explaining the art of making a suit, and we learn very quickly that oftentimes things are not as simple as they may seem.  Despite his age, he is sharp and quick – and deeply loyal – and the details we learn in that opening act about him all come back into play. 

The other standout of the film is O’Brien, breaking out from his image as a YA heartthrob into more adult roles.  Wearing period costumes by Sophie O’Neill and Zac Posen, the young actor has never looked better, and coming off of his 2016 Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018) on-set injury, he seems poised to become one of Hollywood’s rising stars with the charisma, looks, and acting chops to blend into any genre or role. He has all the charm needed to win us over and his friendly rivalry with Francis is a main point of contention.  The two play well with each other, and as their feud festers under the strain of Richie’s injury and the looming threat of a rat in the gang, we learn a lot of the history of the family dynamics.  The chemistry between Richie and Mable (Zoey Deutch), the shop secretary, is another driving point of the first act and their poorly hidden relationship injects not only some moments of lightheartedness into the film, but also helps us connect to these criminals in a more human way.  Deutch helps us sympathize, too, as a girl with dreams of seeing the world but being stuck in her small Chicago neighborhood and the conflict of being in love with a man who, through his own actions and the actions of his family and associates, instill terror on the town is complex. Regrettably, the film does not delve too deeply into that dynamic, as The Outfit is more geared to be a thriller than a character drama, that it is at least touched upon is nice to see. 

While the third act does get a little out of hand as it keeps trying to misdirect and slip in one final twist, overall, the film is very well-paced and never lets us get too comfortable in thinking we know who is safe.  It is a very dangerous story in a way not often seen in gangster movies where the script does not set up anyone with any real protection from the twists and reveals.  Because of all the misdirection and half-truths, we find it difficult to determine who do we trust, or rather what do we trust, as no one here is fully honest. What is frustrating, though, is the language of the film.  It is hard to place in a time because the set design and the anecdotes lead us to believe it is shortly after WWII, but there are many instances where the language seems starkly modern.  It is not bad, perse, but it is distracting as it does not seem to blend into the world of the film, carefully constructed by set designer Tonja Schurmann. 

The Outfit is a very enjoyable little thriller that boasts solid performances and an absolutely beautiful production design by Gemma Jackson.  Once the stage is set, buckle in, because the film moves at a good clip, and while the story never gets so unwieldy that if something is missed, the rest of the film would not make sense, being able to track all the double-crosses is part of the fun.  Even more so, the cast all seems to enjoy playing with each other and that feeling is infectious as it spills over to the audience.  It is reminiscent of the close-knit crime movies of old, but it is not dusty.  Quite the opposite, this small film has so much life in every frame.  When we look back at how Covid-era protocols affected filmmaking, The Outfit will stand as a shining example that some ingenuity can go a long way and proves that there is still some magic to be had at the movies.