“The Outfit” (2022) focuses on Leonard (Mark Rylance), a British cutter and post-World War II immigrant, who is often mistaken for a less-skilled tailor and relies on local mobsters to keep him in business, but will that relationship jeopardize him as he tries to survive a Chicago gang war one fateful night? “The Imitation Game” writer Graham Moore makes his directorial debut.
What is it about tailors that has created a cinematic aura of mystery that suggests a double life as a spy, a mysterious past or a fixture in the crime world? I saw a preview for “The Outfit” while in theaters watching “The King’s Man” (2021) and knew that I was hooked. It felt as if it belonged in the same universe as the John Wick franchise and could be a possible prequel. Viewers may recognize Rylance from “Dunkirk” (2017) as the civilian father who decides to rescue British soldiers evacuating France. Rylance’s performance is the real draw. I was invested in his character’s fate as an underdog while curious about his past so I could find out how such a seemingly helpless person could swim in shark infested waters.
Did “The Outfit” live up to my expectations and assumptions? Yes and no. The film is entertaining. It is a seamless period piece that would not feel out of place as an episode in “Boardwalk Empire.” Having Rylance as the film’s foundation for one hour forty-five minutes is a treat. Without Rylance, the film would fall apart. Rylance keeps the suspense going as viewers wonder who Leonard is. If viewers are dissatisfied when the questions about Leonard’s identity are answered, the blame should fall on Moore’s shoulders alone because Rylance navigates the twists and turns with flashes of insight without revealing too much and spoiling the story.
The preview gave me the impression of showcasing a greater number of disreputable people whom Leonard must outwit, but there are only two rival gangs, a family of Irish mobsters, who are his patrons, and the La Fontaines, who only make a brief appearance. Nikki Amuka-Bird elevated the theme of “The Outfit” with the LaFontaine boss’ monologue, but the overall film refused to either lay the groundwork to support the meaning that she imbued into the scene, and subsequent narrative developments did not build upon it. A contribution from “Lady Macbeth” (2016) director William Oldroyd would have found a way to thread the intersectional theme of immigration, race, and assimilation throughout the film so her appearance did not feel dropped out of nowhere.
“The Outfit” lays the seeds of conflict within the family in the first act. If the movie strains credibility, it is that the family stayed together and did not unravel off screen long before Leonard even arrived in Chicago. Leonard’s handlers hate each other. Richie (Dylan O’Brien), the boss’ entitled, insecure, boastful, screwup son, is paired with Francis (Johnny Flynn), a violent associate who earned his position. They rival each other in a struggle to gain Richie’s father’s favor with Leonard stuck in the crossfire. Leonard’s deal is with the father, Roy (Simon Russell Beale), not them, so the generational difference and power dynamic are at odds. This older man must show deference to two callow men who have not acquired with time and power the art of benevolence to subjects. Other than the interpersonal dynamic, the well-dressed thugs are two-dimensional. They expect Leonard’s deference instead of appreciating it and feel superior because of their vigor and standing, which makes it delicious when Leonard plays them like a fiddle, but their volatility raises the stakes. Even when he outsmarts them, a viewer will never feel as if Leonard has it in the bag.
“The Outfit” is reminiscent of a play. All the action unfolds inside Leonard’s shop. The film’s main flaw is that the characters are glorified prose dumpers explaining all the offscreen developments. I do not believe that a man like Roy would not have talked to Leonard about his past before the movie. Roy knows everybody and their lineage. If Leonard knew Roy since Richie was a child, Roy seemed like the type that would want to know everything about a newcomer. Their conversation is for the audience’s benefit because we are curious about Leonard’s past, but it does not work in terms of the characters’ psychological profiles. I preferred the visual glimpses into Leonard’s past. It reminded me of Guillermo del Toro’s “Nightmare Alley” (2021). Graham is still thinking as a writer, not a director, but shows some promise.
Even though “The Outfit” is a crime drama, it feels like a mystery. Who is the FBI informant? Will this character find out that this other character is dead? Which gang is winning? Will Leonard survive? Who else will survive? Will the FBI catch the bad guys? What is The Outfit? Who is Leonard’s secret customer? Even though Mable (Zoey Deutch), Leonard’s secretary, is supposed to be the heart of the film, and her character works in terms of logic, her character seemed a little heavy-handed as a plot device to make us sympathize with and learn more about Leonard. Everyone cares about someone, and I already liked Leonard without him being a father figure invested in her safety. I could go along with the story, but it began to seem a bit too much.
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Are we watching a prequel to “The Equalizer” or a homage to “The Usual Suspects” (1995)? When Leonard talked about his wife and daughter, I hoped that he was lying just like when he claimed to be an FBI informant. So he is still in hiding and decided not to get revenge even though he is a secret badass, but he will go to all that trouble to save Mable, i.e. recreate his past so he could fix his trauma this time around. OK. I did not come to the movie with any preconceptions regarding Leonard’s identity, so any answer is fine, but I feel vaguely disappointed. I do not understand how these rough ones lose their family violently and are just fine with surviving, but he will put it all on the line for his daughter surrogate. Why? I am a little disappointed that the film never reveals what Leonard’s moral line is that he is willing to incur so much wrath from his former employers then maybe I could buy him doing all that for Mable if Mable also triggered his moral code. I either wanted less about Leonard’s past or more, but this was not just right.
I felt as if Francis was underwritten. Once he realizes that Leonard lied to him about not being good at lying when Leonard subsequently lied well and frequently, instead of just focusing on Francis covering his tracks and threatening Leonard to do so, Graham should have made Francis smarter. Game peeps game. Francis’ wheels should have been turning and calculating about what kind of liability Leonard was. I can still buy it because he is overconfident based on his survival ability and Leonard’s act, but he did not survive that long in the streets and rose in the ranks without his reptilian brain picking up on something.
I am fine with the titular organization not really being involved, but I also would have loved it if Leonard was the test, the evaluator, and then he got rid of the family and Mabel as liabilities after warning Mabel. Then he could recruit the LaFontaines for winning the war. Yes, it is a bleaker ending, but I enjoy bleak. I am also fine with the existing ending: Leonard wiping out all the criminals in that neighborhood because of his past issues, but I am not a fan of the heartwarming twist.
