THE OUTFIT

Mark Rylance     Zoey Deutch     Dylan O’Brien     Johnny Flynn     Simon Russell Beale

            A lowly tailor plays a bait and switch game when he is involved in complicated situations with some of his customers, most of whom are criminals.  He can weave a convincing story on the spot, which saves his life numerous times and provides us with great entertainment.  Director Graham Moore (who wrote the script for The Imitation Game) and co-writer Johnathan McClain’s script is a wonder in itself with its constant situational changes suffused with threat and requiring immediate action—all while being intelligently calculated.  Background stories of all the main characters are dribbled out deliberately and explain why the person we see is who he/she is.  “Ah ha!” moments will occur throughout the viewing time for this movie, which is also part of its enjoyment.

            It seems as if the Leonard Burling character was written precisely for Mark Rylance.  As a soft-spoken British man outwardly unassuming ([tailoring] “isn’t art.  It’s a craft.”) he carries a big stick of craftmanship and wit that frequently take his listener off guard.  He knows how to charm and distract the most fearsome mobster into listening to his story as it is unfolding, and he knows how not to be seen slipping away for some contrivance that will be all-important later.  In addition to the plot, just observing him in action is fascinating.  Rylance is well known and respected internationally, most notably for his work in Bridge of Spies, Wolf Hall, and this past year in Don’t Look Up in which he plays a less than admirable character to great effect.

            It is curious that the tailor allows a drop-box at the back of his shop for his star client mobster Roy Boyle’s (Beale) gang to communicate with one another and plan operations.  Burling makes no eye contact with them as they pass through his work room, being completely engrossed in his tailoring. His receptionist Mable (Deutch) resembles her boss in her astuteness and pleasant overlay, but she too is interesting to observe as the story unfolds.  In the end, we will see how all this fits together and makes sense.

            Composer Alexandre Desplat’s music and Dick Pope’s cinematography capture and elaborate upon The Outfit’s mood and suspenseful uncertainty in a way that makes it all of a piece.  

 

It’s always a joy to see a smart, clever person with a good heart in action.

 

Grade:  A                                 By Donna R. Copeland

THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS

Alicia Vikander     Michael Fassbender     Rachel Weisz

            Beautifully filmed in Australia and New Zealand, with rich musical accompaniment, artfully framed cinematography, and superior actors, The Light between Oceans promised to be an outstanding film.  Unfortunately, it falls short in its story line, such that I began to think of it as “Light (truth) between oceans of bad decisions.”  It was good in its premise of presenting a Solomon’s dilemma about mothers and a baby.  The problem here is that half of the dilemma was the result of a poor decision when truth should have been the primary consideration.  Yes, people do make bad decisions based on emotional concerns, but once insight comes to bear, and errors are compounded by guilt, we can expect all hell to break loose.

            Tom (Fassbender) has fought in the Western Front of WWI for four years, and when he returns home to Australia, he decides he would like the isolation he would be afforded if he becomes the keeper of the Janus Rock Lighthouse.  He meets with the locals and is quickly offered the job (the previous caretaker left under troubled circumstances, which the townspeople attribute to the long periods of isolation his job entailed.)  Tom, who is unassuming and seeming to carry a load of survivor’s guilt, is untroubled by this, and looks forward to it.

            Much to his surprise, a local beauty named Isabel (Vikander) has an immediate crush on him, and after an afternoon picnic asks to see the lighthouse.  But, he says, the only other person allowed there is the wife of the caretaker.  Well, then, “Marry me”, she says.  After brief correspondences, they do decide to wed, and spend blissful months in an idyllic setting, until tragedy strikes in the form of miscarriages. 

            They seem to be coping reasonably well with their grief when a surprise washes ashore.  It’s a boat with a baby inside—and a dead body.  Tom is prepared to go with protocol, report the death and apply to adopt the child, but Isabel sees this as a gift from God and pleads so earnestly, Tom doesn’t have the heart to deny her, and thus begins a heartbreaking series of fateful decisions, the consequences of which begin when, after two years of being away, they go to town and discover a hard truth.

            It’s likely that most people who see The Light between Oceans will thoroughly enjoy it.  Fassbender, Vikander, and Weisz are gifted actors who mesmerize when they’re on screen, and the cinematography by Adam Arkapaw is worth going to see just for his artistic renditions.  The same for Alexandre Desplat’s music; he never seems to fall short.  The movie is based on the highly successful novel by M. L. Stedman. 

A Soloman-like dilemma with an unnecessarily dissatisfying resolution.

Grade:  B                        By Donna R. Copeland