It’s rather rare these days to see a major Hollywood studio release a one-location, character-driven crime drama, let alone one that uses a lineup of character actors rather than A-listers. But that’s exactly what The Outfit is, and it’s everything fans of classic movies want from the industry. Director and co-writer Graham Moore, a career screenwriter, has crafted a film that in some ways feels like it was pulled straight out of the past, and yet it has a distinct modern flair that subverts its genre trappings.

The Outfit is centered around Leonard Burling, an aging English cutter (I’d say tailor but… just watch the movie) in Chicago who’s forced to house a drop for a local Irish gang that’s run by Roy Boyle (Simon Russell Beale). Leonard, played by the always outstanding Mark Rylance, is a pleasant and dedicated professional who has a father-daughter-esque relationship with his receptionist, Mabel (Zoey Deutch). Despite their friendly nature, Leonard and Mabel have no choice but to rub elbows with the criminal underworld of 1956 Chicago, and when a tape recording of the Boyle’s business dealings hits the streets, that underworld comes crashing down on them.

First and foremost, this film is about its performances, and man are they good. They have to be too, given that The Outfit takes place in only one location, Leonard’s tailor shop. It all begins and ends with Mark Rylance, whose character Leonard is the heart and soul of this movie. Rylance imbues Leonard with a stoic kindness on the surface that belies a mischievousness underneath, which is the kind of nuance this film requires. Zoey Deutch is a similarly effective as Mabel, playing well off Rylance’s English charm with sass and wit that’s distinctly American. Then there’s the two gangsters who bring the main story to our protagonists’ doorstep, Francis (Johnny Flynn) and Richie (Dylan O’Brien). While O’Brien is certainly impressive at playing a character whose machismo skirts the line between toxic and lovable, it’s Flynn who stands out as the film’s primary antagonist. Being a counter to Rylance’s Leonard, a man whose intelligence and patience implies a certain infallibility, was always going to be difficult, but Flynn is more than up to the task.

While I said earlier that The Outfit is a crime drama, it’s also fair to label it a crime thriller. From the moment Francis drags a gut-shot Richie into Leonard’s shop, the movie surges forward with tense scene after tense scene. However, the intensity is almost entirely created through taut dialogue and plot twists, rather than the requisite shootouts that one might expect from a crime movie. While some will find this disappointing, others like myself will appreciate the screenwriters’ subversive use of the genre. I was constantly enthralled and surprised by the way The Outfit utilizes its gangster characters. They actually think rather than shoot more often than not, which makes them seem more like real people with real lives rather than just banal bad guys with revolvers. And as is usually the case, the realer the characters feel, the more the audience can relate to and invest in them, raising the stakes.

Indeed, the stakes are raised constantly throughout this movie, as additional characters and story beats are introduced over its 105-minute runtime. The main plot revolves around the tape recording I mentioned earlier, a recording that means the Boyles have a rat in their midst, leaking information to the feds and a rival gang. This plotline plays out more like a whodunnit than a traditional gangster flick, which means that even fans of mysteries will have something to sink their teeth into. And again, I cannot stress enough how entertaining and likable Mark Rylance is as the amiable old man who has to traverse this seedy world of backstabbing and murder. You feel for him, you root for him, and yet, you have to consider that maybe he’s more involved than at first glance.

Unfortunately, The Outfit isn’t without its flaws. Like many mysteries and thrillers, the film’s final act indulges a bit too much in plot twists. I like a good swerve as much as anybody, but the more a film does it, the less appealing it becomes. I obviously can’t spoil exactly what happens, but what I will say is, upon reflection, I realized that a lot of what’s revealed made too much that came before it come across as improbable at best. A number of things shown are intended to make certain characters look more impressive in their scheming, but instead, I couldn’t help but feel that it made them seem more incompetent and reliant on luck.

This film is also notably small in scale, which is likely a problem in regard to its mass appeal. While it didn’t bother me in the moment, looking back, I realize that The Outfit could work nearly, if not just as well on a theater stage. I’m not normally one to argue that a film should strive to be more cinematic, but I feel that in this case, it could’ve helped.

However, as the Leonard states in the film’s narration, a cutter’s end product is never perfect. When he says this, Leonard is speaking metaphorically, and I think it’s an appropriate metaphor for this film. The Outfit isn’t perfect, but it is indeed a well-tailored product that can be cherished despite its imperfections. If nothing else, it’s a splendid showcase for Mark Rylance’s acting skill, and his supporting cast is nearly as top-notch as he is. First-time director Graham Moore has established himself as a filmmaker to watch, and I’d be intrigued to see what he could do in the same genre but with a bigger budget. Or he could make a movie that’s just Mark Rylance measuring and cutting fabric. I’d happily watch that too.

If I had to score it, I’d give The Outfit an 8/10.