The Outfit
2022
**½
Director: Graham Moore
Cast: Mark Rylance, Zoey Deutch, Johnny Flynn, Dylan O'Brien, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Simon Russell Beale, Alan Mehdizadeh
In 1956, an English cutter runs a tailor shop in a Chicago neighbourhood controlled by an Irish mob. Things come to a head one night when one of the gangsters takes refuge in the shop with a gunshot wound to his stomach. Graham Moore, whose screenplay for The Imitation Game won an Academy Award, makes his directorial debut with this very modest two-room drama. In fact, his film is so monotonously stagy and dialogue-driven that it wouldn't make any difference if I watched it with my eyes closed. The script includes twists and turns, but not much credibility. The performances range from good (Rylance and Deutch) to bad (Flynn and O'Brien).
