Nihilism may be the most fitting attitude in one of these instances, but it is jarring in the others - especially in a film whose interwoven structure suggests an intention to make sense of a world outsiders don’t understand. But the screenplay fumbles some attempts to tie things together, offering abrupt moments of violence whose motivations we feel we ought to understand but don’t. The action becomes more familiarly story-driven as the film progresses, especially as we watch Rio’s first encounters with an attractive new student (musician Kelli Wakili, credited here as Kelli Strader). (An abundance of facial tattoos makes the latter job easier.) The quasi-documentary approach suits Rechenberg’s no-frills, realistic dialogue, but doesn’t keep it from growing mundane over the course of the longish pic. He and DP Lyn Moncrief frame scenes tightly with a handheld camera that tags along restlessly for much of the film, we follow behind characters so much that we can identify the backs of their heads more readily than their faces. Instead, Rechenberg focuses on making us feel like we’re silent observers moving within their world.
Rio, though seemingly smarter than his peers and gentle at heart, goes along too readily with bad-news acquaintances Flores, a new prison guard getting an education from coworkers in how to abuse his authority, puts up no fight that we see when they make him part of their no-snitching brotherhood. You also get to see Rylance engaging with a worthy foil.Though we see enough of each man’s private life to understand his motivations to some extent - even if we hardly sympathize when Miguel violently pushes for increased stature in his aunt’s crime organization - none offers the kind of viewer-surrogate moral framework most films of this sort provide. Leonard’s focused yet effortless meticulousness when he works - how his hands smooth the fabric and control his enormous shears - define this man more than any line of dialogue. Ed-size choppers for his role as the eccentric zillionaire in “ Don’t Look Up.” But he’s a master of restraint and he doesn’t need accessories to hold you as he proved with his mesmerizing turn in Steven Spielberg’s Cold War drama “ Bridge of Spies.” Rylance’s role here isn’t as rich, but one of the attractions of “The Outfit” is that it allows him to etch his character in pockets of filigreed solitude. Rylance put on a fright wig to play William Kunstler in “The Trial of the Chicago 7” and wore Mr. And, in sync with Rylance’s finely calibrated performance, they insure Leonard remains the visual axis. With a muted palette, shifts in the depth of field and complementary staging and camera moves, Moore and Pope map the store’s (and story’s) geography from different vantage points. This is Moore’s feature directing debut (he wrote “The Imitation Game”) but, working with the director of photography Dick Pope, he handles the space thoughtfully. “The Outfit” basically consists of characters moving in, out and through the store’s two main rooms, spatial limitations that can feel stagy and be tricky to manage. For the most part, Mabel is around to greet the customers and brighten up the store’s gloomy interior: She smiles at one villain (Dylan O’Brien), gives the cold shoulder to another (Johnny Flynn) and so on. There’s also Leonard’s employee, Mabel (Zoey Deutch), one of two women in the mix Nikki Amuka-Bird also pops in as a glamorous villain. Leonard takes longer to open, although the box’s contents are central to the puzzle that also involves a clandestine recording, a secret romance, rampaging rival crews and the larger mysterious criminal enterprise that gives the movie its title. Reserve all the awards for this powerhouse of talent Gulshan Grover is exceptional in a small role. Like the box, Leonard is a mystery that the movie teases out one hint at a time. Day after day, he works in his somber, claustrophobic store while dodgy types parade in and out, dropping envelopes in a locked box.
It’s a nostalgia-infused genre exercise set in 1956 that centers on Leonard, who, having left London after the war, now makes suits for a clientele that includes underworld types, some of whom use his shop for business. Certainly Rylance’s presence enriches “The Outfit,” a moderately amusing gangster flick that doesn’t make a great deal of sense. Sometimes, all you need in a movie is a great actor - well, almost all. There, he snips and stitches with a bowed head and delicate, precisely articulated movements that express the beauty and grace of Rylance’s art. His character, Leonard, is a bespoke tailor who once worked on Savile Row and now practices his trade in an unassuming shop in Chicago. The gangsters in “The Outfit” have plenty of tough moves, but none of these guys hold the screen like Mark Rylance when he just stands or stares - or sews.
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