I went into The Outfit having not only not seen a trailer, but being totally ignorant of even a synopsis or genre. I sat down making a mental joke this might be the sequel to The Tuxedo, but figuring it was probably a spy flick or something. Then the film starts with a monolog about tailoring a suit. I was amusingly surprised.

The Outfit is about a proper English gentlemen (Mark Rylance) who runs an upscale custom suit shop. Some of his clientele are Chicago gangsters who use his place as a drop and he makes their suits in return. But there’s a crime war brewing and Rylance is in the middle of it.

I wasn’t expecting this drama of manners battling low lifes and the mind games and gang war that surrounds them. Much of the movie is quiet, reserved, and studied and an even bigger part is a war of words, meaning, and intent. Barely anything anyone says is on the up-and-up and this generates a lot of sly, cultured drama and suspense.

I don’t think the pacing of this film will be for everyone… it’s definitely in slow burn territory. It some ways it reminds me of the verbal and emotional chess of Inglorious Basters… what people are saying isn’t usually what they mean. The suspense comes in predicting A) who knows what about whom, and B) what are they going to do about it. The film, in its own reserved way, simply crackles with drama.

The film also takes place in a single location with a small group of people… either a tribute to economical storytelling or the realities of pandemic filmmaking. Either way, I enjoyed its devotion to the set and disinterest in taking us to places mentioned throughout the film.

If there’s one problem with the film its that the ending probably has one or two too many dramatic beats. That economical filmmaking could have worked better with fewer things spelled out. It doesn’t tank the film though… it’s still very good even with the lesser than ending.

I really dug this twisty little film and its devotion to misdirection, manners, lies, half-truths, and thinking on your feet. Pretty sure some will just find it dull and staid, but I think if you look beyond the surface, you’ll feel the drama and the suspense bubbling.

Score: 86