The Outfit: Gangster thriller set in a tailor shop in 1950s Chicago.
Film plot and background
Gangster thriller set in a tailor shop in Chicago in the fifties.
Leonard Burling (Mark Rylance) left his old life behind after World War II and his ruined posh tailor shop in London and started a new life in Chicago. A few years later, in the 1950s, he runs the bespoke tailor shop in the neighbourhood of gangster boss Roy Boyle (Simon Russell Beale). His assistant Mable (Zoey Deutch) helps with the bookkeeping. Messages are sent back and forth between the gangsters in Burling’s shop, and Burling always has takers for his high-class suits, since the gangsters only wear the finest wardrobe.
When number 2 and number 3 of the criminal organisation, Richie Boyle (Dylan O’Brien) and enforcer Francis (Johnny Flynn), turn up at the shop one evening, Burling is asked to patch up Roy Boyle’s wounded son. The two tell of a secret underground organisation called “The Outfit” that has made contact through the letterbox. Thus, there is said to be a mole in the ranks of Boyle’s criminal organisation.
The longer the evening progresses, the more Burling becomes entangled in the dark dealings. Soon he has to do everything he can to pull his head out of the ever tightening noose unscathed when a hostile criminal (Nikki Amuka-Bird) appears in business with her syndicate.
“The Outfit” – background, cast, theatrical release
Following his Oscar win for Best Adapted Screenplay for “The Imitation Game” (2015), Graham Moore not only ventures into the screenplay, but also takes a seat in the director’s chair for the first time at the same time.
With stars like Mark Rylance (“Bridge of Spies”), Zoey Deutch (“Set it Up”), Dylan O’Brien (“Maze Runner” series), Johnny Flynn (“Emma”), and Simon Russell Beale (“Death of Stalin”), the gangster film is brought to life with nostalgic flair.
The world premiere took place as a special gala at the Berlinale 2022. The regular cinema release of “The Outfit – Crime by the Book” is on 2 June 2022.
