An expert tailor must outwit a dangerous group of mobsters in order to survive a fateful night.
The year is 1956 as “The Outfit” opens on a snowy Chicago morning at first light. A man enters an unassuming, yet elegant shop with the name L Burling Bespoke tastefully lettered on the bay window facing the street. Inside the cozy brick building, gentlemen may deign to acquire customized apparel – even if they happen to be gangsters, as long as they can afford to pay.
“The Outfit” stars Mark Rylance, who won a well-deserved Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in “Bridge of Spies.” Here, he is the shop’s proprietor named Leonard, though not as one would suppose, a tailor. As Leonard explains more than once, anyone with a sewing needle and a piece of thread can call themselves a tailor. Rather, he is a cutter, specifically of fine gentlemen’s attire – apprenticed on Savile Row in Central London no less – before eventually departing for the United States under mysterious circumstances. He blames blue jeans, but there is more to the story.
Leonard’s secretary, Mable (Zoey Deutch) greets most of the customers as they enter Burling. A few, however, simply walk past her without any objection. With assured familiarity, they glide through the recesses to the inner sanctum where customers are measured and haute couture is crafted from rolls of raw fabric along the walls – fashioned from enticing blends of wool, mohair, linen, and silk.
The mysterious men drop plain brown envelopes into a wooden box, and then depart just as matter-of-factly as they came, all without a word. When Mable comments that the activity may not be altogether above board, Leonard replies, “If we only allowed angels to be customers, soon we’d have no customers at all.”
Later in the day, Richie (Dylan O’Brien), the son of a local gangster and sidekick Francis (Johnny Flynn) stroll in as if they own the place. While Richie is the son of the boss name Roy (Simon Russell Beale), Francis is clearly second in command, the loyal lieutenant whose claim to fame was taking six slugs in the gut for the old man.
When Richie and Francis discover that one of the envelopes has a strange marking on the outside, they exchange worried expressions and then tell Leonard to leave the room. Without missing a beat, Leonard politely asks the two men to excuse him, and he calmly exits. Such is the methodical exterior that Leonard exudes throughout, even as the situation grows more uncertain by the minute.
Apparently, a mole is working with the Feds in an attempt to indict gang members by recording conversations conspiring illicit activity. Though they have the tape, Richie and Francis need a player – not necessarily a common item in 1956 – in order to determine who the rat is. As the plot thickens, Leonard bears witness to all, caught uncomfortably in the middle of the drama.
Nikki Amuka-Bird as Violet, the head of a rival gang, turns in a fine, albeit brief, performance near the end. She remarks that for years, no one ever bothered her operation – not until it started making real money. She schemes to use the tape to snuff out her competition in the form of Roy and his minions.
The exquisite production design consists of richly appointed mahogany and oak walls and shelves, complete with stained glass pocket doors separating the various sections of the establishment. The handsome texture of the set is literally palpable, reminiscent of the original “Sleuth” starring Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine.
The film was directed and co-written by Graham Moore, who won the Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award for “The Imitation Game.” “The Outfit” is clearly an actor’s movie, full of original dialog and subtle nuance delivered by an outstanding cast. Though the plot seems relatively straightforward at first, more than enough twists and turns emerge to keep audiences guessing right into the closing credits.
In Theaters Friday, March 18th
