The Outfit

An unexpected gem and a very nice surprise. The Outfit is a film that came along with happy reviews from critics and audiences alike. I didn't really want to get into it, but I did well to give it a chance, because you hardly see old-fashioned filmmaking of this quality these days. The Outfit is an intimate conversational gangster film set in one place, over one night, with few characters, but it works well. Mark Rylance is absolutely perfect as an elderly gentleman who has life experience to burn, and I was rooting for him tremendously. Zoey Deutch and Dylan O'Brien are also a very good, and the rest of the cast do their thing here. The film has a great script to fall back on with excellent dialogue, wisecracks, quotes and plenty of plot surprises and twists – I wasn’t expecting so many twists. Just when you think it's over, there's another twist and then two more! It doesn't feel overwrought but smart and classy, and manages to play nicely with the viewer throughout – you can't guess how it will all turn out until the last moment. The whole film also has a decent atmosphere and can be uncomfortably suspenseful, and in a few scenes even nicely edgy (tailor's scissors stuck in a throat!). The film could also work as a stage play. I'm absolutely blown away, it's rare that genre films like this grab me by the heart like this, but this is really proper gentlemanly quality. Perfection is a necessary goal precisely because it is unattainable. If you don't strive for perfection, you'll never create anything great, and yet true perfection is impossible. Story 5/5. Action 2/5, Humor 1/5, Violence 3/5, Fun 4/5 Music 3/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 4/5, Emotion 3/5, Actors 5/5. 8/10. (04/20/2022)

Somehow I can't believe the script isn’t based on a very, very, very good theatre play, because that's what it feels like. The whole film takes place in a tailor's shop, in his salon and in his workshop. The dialogue is a joy to listen to and the performances are a joy to watch, especially when the filmmakers know exactly when to surprise and when to thrill (one can't help but notice the reference to Hitchcock's Rope). And they count on the viewer to discover things for themselves. Mark Rylance is excellent in the lead role and once again I loved Alexandre Desplat's music. Outfit is not a tentpole film, it’s a brilliant one. (05/10/2023)

A perfect intimate gangster drama that has balls and doesn't skimp on the tension. The film has a pretty specific genre that is hard to describe and from which not many pieces emerge – which makes me all the more thrilled that a film with such a "common" description ended up being a perfect experience in every way. The characters are excellent, the tailors and the gangsters around them are believable, interesting and evolve significantly over time, the tension is literally laced through the film from the first few minutes, when you have no idea where the film will go in the minutes that follow, and it is simply excellent, unpredictable and engaging. There is action and blood, the dialogue is interesting and there are several twists and turns, each time better than the last. The closer the film gets to the end, the more it builds in intensity until the very heated finale. A damn good surprise, from which I expected bland filmmaking, but in the end I'm not far from a full score - maximum satisfaction. (04/21/2022)

A conversational drama that stays in a single location throughout its entire runtime? Yes, my concerns were warranted, but it turned out to be a decent genre piece that ultimately doesn’t disappoint. Mark Rylance in the lead was a safe bet; I was 100% sure he would deliver a precise performance (and guess what? He did :D). I also liked the setting in a 1950s Chicago editing room; there aren’t many films from that historical period. As for the storyline, I must admit that the first half leans heavily on conversation, perhaps too much at times. The second half is much better; it includes a few dead bodies, the dialogues gain some edge, and everything gradually builds up to an ending with some solid twists. So, in summary, it’s not excellent, but I’m glad I gave it a chance. It didn’t disappoint. I give it 6.5/10. (07/29/2022)