[
The Outfit (2022)]
Watched it because of Mark Rylance, one of the best actors of our generation. It has particularities that resemblances to his possibly most well known work, Rudolf Abel in The Bridge of Spies, although, the film and character are nothing like it. Chicago, 1956, a tailor, I'm sorry, a cutter, you'll understand when you see it, gets mixed in dangerous mob business. Although this takes place in Chicago, this is an all-in-one room film. Everything is centered around Rylance character, he successfully made it mysterious, slowly unfolding his past history with a twist by the end.
P.s. @Stirchley the film mentions Savile Row, it has very slow and detailed takes on tailoring, almost like Hannibal Lecter cooking in the series.
I too am a huge fan of Mark Rylance. Possibly my favorite actor today. And he didn't disappoint here.
Still the movie was just a smidge disappointing. Part of that is due to my imagining what the film was going to be prior to watching it, but another portion was within the production itself.
First of all the color saturation was rather pale, making it seem almost like it was shot on video tape. That could have been my TV's setting. OTOH it could have been filmed that way to connote the 1950s. It's almost if it were color desaturated.
It's very tricky to bring off a crime drama set in one room. In this case I think it was a detraction. In films of this type, the story, writing, and acting have to be first rate in order to overcome the humdrum of the single set.
Notable examples of films set in one room that were successful:
Rope, Rear Window (slightly expanded set),
Coherence, and
The Guilty (Danish).
Some of the casting was questionable, especially Simon Russell Beale as Roy Boyle, the mob boss. I never believed him in the role. The two gangsters played by Johnny Flynn and Dylan O'Brien were not very threatening. Johnny Flynn at times seem to fit the role, but at other times he seemed to be struggling to seem nasty.
The production put me in mind of an American crime version of a British drawing room drama. After about the 10th foray into the ante room, I wanted the camera to go through the front door and show the damn neighborhood!
I'd rate the film about the same as did you. A very nice vehicle for Mark Rylance, but to me the twists, turns, and surprise ending was not enough to rate it the highest.
~Doc