Two Paragraph Review: The Outfit (2022)

 Like a well-made suit, The Outfit is smooth and looks great the first glance. But, the suit is only as good as the thing that inhabits it below the fabric and all that fine craftsmanship. In the case of this 1950s thriller, that thing inside is without any doubt its main character, Mark Rylance. As a semi-legendary actor even today, Rylance offers a powerful and layered approach in anything he does. This movie is no different.

But, there is a lot more space in that suit. Graham Moore, the movie's director, got his first chance to fill this role and it shows. Too often, the movie is either aimlessly intense or lacking in any meaningful impulse. Also, the incessant need to change gears leads up to a very tiring last third of the film, which even Rylance can't make up for. That is why The Outfit remains a great first attempt, but one that still rings somewhat hollow in the end, remaining more style than substance.