JASON EVANS' 100-WORD REVIEWS: The Outfit

 Small but satisfying gangster flick

Film Critic Jason Evans is on a mission to tell you everything you need to know about movies in less time than it takes to thread a needle. His reviews are exactly 100 words (not 99, not 101). This is his 100 word review of The Outfit.

The Premise – Leonard (Mary Rylance, Best Supporting Actor winner for Bridge of Spies) is a tailor, trained on Saville Row in London but now working at his own shop in Chicago. The only thing more important to him than the suits he makes is Mable (Zoey Deutch), the young woman who works as his assistant. To help make ends meet, Leonard allows local gangsters to use the back of his shop as a bit of a mailbox, dropping off notes and payments for each other. Among the mobsters who frequent the shop is Richie (Dylan O’Brien, The Maze Runner), the son of the local boss who has eyes for Mable. Leonard and Mable’s quiet existence is shattered one night when a message dropped at their shop turns out to contain information that could set off a gang war.

The 100 Words – This compact thriller feels like a play because the whole thing happens inside Leonard’s shop. It is a slow burn at first but ratchets up into a fun game of whodunit and dangerous lies. Rylance is always brilliant and Deutch also shines thanks to a script that contains plenty of sharp dialogue. Still, it just feels small at times and the scheme at the movie’s core goes from plausible to outlandish toward the end. Mysteries that rely on convenience and everyone acting stupid limit a film’s ability to shine, which is why this flick ends up as good, not great.

Reach out to Jason Evans on Twitter @JasonDukeEvans