No. 74 (2022) THE OUTFIT Sept 15th.

 

Film No. 74 (2022)  September 15th.  2.10 PM   NOVA, Cinema 10,  Lygon St. Carlton,  Victoria.

 "This isn't art, it's a craft. You cannot make something good until you know the customer" (Leonard's voice-over sums up a devotion to his craft as a "cutter").

Nominee Best Screenplay; Graham Moore, at the Hollywood Critics Association Midseason Awards 2022.

I'm reminded of a 50's gangster film; Humphrey Bogart in the lead, Bogart our hero occupying every scene and desperately trying to outwit Edward G Robinson led gangsters. THE OUTFIT is not shot in grainy black and white. Leonard (Mark Rylance), our hero, appears in close to every scene, in crisp digital colour. But this film most definitely gets its template from the tense, gangster genre of the 50's.

The introductory narration by Rylance, presents Leonard via his descriptions of cutting (his occupation as a tailor). The description is important because as we learn more about Leonard, (known as "English" to the gangsters who use his shop as a "drop"), we are able to put puzzle pieces in place as THE OUTFIT unfurls. Even the title has us double guessing.

Leonard is a good man. His past a mystery. We meet him cutting cloth for the suits of the gangsters who rule the streets of his Chicago district. He works with Ray Boyle (Simon Russell Beale) and his clan, it's easier. But between, a mini power struggle between Boyle's son Richie (Dylan O'Brien) and chief henchman Francis (Johnny Flynn) and, the use of technology (reel to reel tape), things spiral leading to a violent chaos. Leonard and his secretary Mabel (Zoey Deutch) are so much more than caught in the middle.  

Graham Moore (writer; THE IMMITATION GAME) directs his first feature here. He, along with actor Johnathan McClain have written a small potboiler. It's their film. They pull the strings of an astonishing number of support crew. Moore spoke of his research into an era when The FBI began to crack gangs in the 50's using listening devices; unsophisticated, cassette player/recorders. This story is a fiction, but Moore has stolen ideas from tales he researched.  10GUMS.