The Outfit 2022 Movie | Key Facts & Characters & Ending Explained
The outfit 2022 Movie is an old-fashioned crime thriller that takes place in one location and is a dialogue driven story and believe it or not it’s not part of a franchise! It’s a very well done film and is certainly going to be one of the most underrated films of 2022.
Set in 1956 Chicago, the central character is a Bespoke suit maker played expertly by Mark Rylance. As he has established his business, central to that are the Boyle crime ring members who use his services and also his business as a drop off point for some mysterious packages. Presumably some packages of cash, to be picked up by the boss’ men.
On this night there is a tape, supposedly made by a “rat” to expose the crime operations. The identity of this rat is central to the story. We see a number of characters enter the story, some smarter than the others, but the only really smart one is the suit maker who is quick to clarify, “I’m not a tailor, they just sew on buttons and stitch hems. I am a cutter.”
As the story moves along it exposes itself somewhat as a dark comedy and we witness how the cutter is able to manipulate everything to get the results he needs for him and his young female receptionist.
An early montage shows us how the Boyle mob utilizes Leonard’s shop for drops, and trusts him due to his ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil’ demeanor. Leonard is one cool dude, and it’s obvious we (and the mob) are underestimating him … but we can’t quite figure out why or by how much. One crazy night changes everything. Richie (Dylan O’Brien, THE MAZE RUNNER franchise) is brought into the tailor shop after being shot by a rival gang ambush. He’s accompanied by Francis (Johnny Flynn, EMMA., 2020), and the dynamics between these two is quite interesting. Richie is the son of the Boyle family patriarch and has been seeing Mable on the side, while Francis is the favored employee after saving Roy Boyle (Simon Russell Beale) by taking gun fire. Richie is a whiny, spoiled wannabe tough guy, while Francis is volatile and constantly sneering.
What follows is a bit Hitchcockian. We have plot twists, murder, backstabbing, danger, and surprises. When it’s discovered the Boyle family has a rat that is feeding details to the rival cross-town gang and the FBI, things get tense thanks partially to a MacGuffin audio tape. It all leads to confrontations in the shop, and some nice scene-chewing from Simon Russell Beale and Nikki Amuka-Bird as the leader of the rival gang. An elaborate plan by one of the characters is a pleasant surprise (to us, not the others). As Leonard points out on a couple of occasions, he’s a “cutter”, not a tailor – a distinction he takes as seriously as his skill with shears. The film’s title has double meaning: the suits Leonard crafts, and the national syndicate that involves the Boyle family. Most of this we’ve seen before, but it’s Rylance’s portrayal of Leonard that offers a different look and feel. Fans of deceptive thrillers will find some joy here.
Characters
Another huge strength of the film is it’s impressive cast and stellar performances! Mark Rylance kills it in this movie, he delivers such a daring and phenomenal performance as Leonard. It’s incredibly nuanced and I just love how he slowly revealed more about his character through ways he behaved and slight tendencies in dialogue delivery.
Mark Rylance (Oscar winner for BRIDGE OF SPIES, 2015) excels here as Leonard, a Savile Row-trained tailor now working his craft in his own shop in 1956 Chicago. His path from London to the windy city is a bit murky, but we immediately take note of Leonard’s calm and elegant presence accompanied by his soothing voice. Rylance uses that voice as narrator to explain the intricacies involved with creating a man’s suit, and the importance of reading the man prior to utilizing the 4 fabrics and 38 pieces that make-up the outfit. Leonard is also protective of Mable (Zoey Deutch, ZOMBIELAND: DOUBLE TAP, 2019), his assistant who dreams of traveling the globe.
The English tailor is assisted by a very street tough girl, Mabel (Zoey Deutch) from the neighborhood who has long history with the block, enough to see that it has fallen to the scum of society. That doesn’t stop her from dating the son of a very awful mob boss who has his eyes set on being included in a national network of other criminal scum.
Ending Explained
The historically inspired tale of The Outfit movie ends with Leonard setting fire to the store with the intention of starting over, but it appears that his past will always hang over him even if he survives.
After relocating to Chicago in search of a better life and to get away from the organized crime that claimed the lives of his wife and daughter, Leonard is determined to bring the Boyle crew to justice.
The Outfit’s small but powerful ensemble of characters skillfully depicts Leonard’s compelling motivation to deceive them, which stems from his traumatic past and his inadvertent involvement in the Boyle crew’s operations.
Nevertheless, Leonard appears to adjust his strategy as it goes along at several times in the movie. For example, he was unable to foresee Francis killing Richie, and his choice to conceal the tape, which he is aware is phony, appears to be a reaction to Richie and Francis’s fear.
Even though Leonard opposes organized crime, his letters to the FBI about the crew’s activities are more overtly motivated by his realization that Mable is the rat, which he learned about through his relationship with Richie. Leonard’s motivations revolve around Mable: he makes his scheme to assist her, and his funny confession to Richie may be an honest attempt to be taken seriously as the informant rather than Mable.
In the epilogue of The Outfit, Mable is seen assisting Leonard in dismantling the crew, and it appears from his refusal to acknowledge Francis’ treachery to Roy that this was his objective. Leonard’s strategy is riddled with holes, even in its clear disclosure.
By the time The Outfit ends, Leonard has revealed the tattoos that had been concealed behind his sleeves the whole movie, explaining the truth about his background in an attempt to appease the resentful Francis. Leonard clarifies that his family’s death by fire was not a result of chance, but rather a deliberate action by the criminal group he had previously been a merciless enforcer for. After becoming disillusioned with a specific order he received, Leonard made the decision to abandon his criminal life and pursue a trade.
His tattoos serve as a constant reminder of his history and serve as a warning to Francis that there is more to him than meets the eye.
They also demonstrate that he is no longer trying to trick him by appealing to his humanity rather than his deceit. Francis tries to rush at Leonard with his knife, but Leonard’s fabric scissors stab him instead, unmoved by his appeal. Leonard’s tattoo disclosure is a nod to the parallel lifestyles they have led, his attempt to break free from the criminal underworld, and his recommendation that Francis follow suit.
Having said that, Leonard’s journey came to a far more terrible finish with The Outfit’s finale. By the time the gangster movie concludes, Leonard has returned to his original role as a willing participant in violent crimes, using his craft’s tool as his actual weapon. Leonard kneels over Francis while he is dying, ready to knife him mercilessly a second time. At this point, Leonard looks unavoidably violent, and the real Leonard is back.
The Outfit 2022 Movie | Reviews
IMDB score is 7.2 ( I rated it 8 personally)
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The Outfit 2022 Movie Trailer
