The Outfit (2022)

Zoey Deutch and Mark Rylance in The Outfit

Graham Moore's The Outfit limits its parameters to one set, the store of a bespoke tailor in 1956 Chicago. The tailor, a fervent devotee of his craft, is fronting mob activity. There is a femme fatale, an overeager son of a mob boss, and his rival. Allegiances shift and blood is spilled. Moore's choice to emphasize the theatricality of his conceit pays dividends. Instead of opening up the film, he keeps it so tightly closed that the characters resemble snakes in a cage. His cast is smart in both senses of the word and the machinations of the plot are well oiled.

He is most fortunate to have Mark Rylance, the epitome of theatrical precision, as his tailor. Rylance easily assays both his character's meek exterior and the steely resolve that lurks beneath. Rylance's reading of the narration is more entertaining on its own than most movies are in their entirety. Still, The Outfit feels a little shopworn. If one has seen other film mysteries limited to one set, especially Rope and Sleuth, one might find the twists and turns of  The Outfit too pat. I did. Certainly, one character's resurrection and subsequent dispatch in the last act was a twist too many. Nevertheless, one can do far worse these days and I always enjoy seeing Johnny Flynn, Zoey Deutch, and Simon Russell Beale.