Mark Rylance in The Outfit (Nick Wall/Focus Features)

Leonard Burling (Mark Rylance) is a meticulous, seemingly kind man, one whose face reveals little of his thoughts. He is a cutter (not a tailor), who adjusts suits for a wealthy clientele. His voice—calm, steely, genial—gives the impression of incredible patience; his hands, in close-ups as they work, gently and precisely handle the cloth. In his opening voice-over, he shares the details of his profession. How much can you know about someone by what they want in their clothes? In his opinion, you can tell quite a lot.

Originally from London, he now works in 1956 Chicago with his secretary Mable (Zoey Deutch), a young woman who dreams of seeing as much of the world as he has. His clientele, more often than not, are members of the mob, who conduct some of their business in the confines of his shop. Though Leonard does not ask them any questions, while Mable appears to be dating Richie (Dylan O’Brien), the son of a prominent boss (Simon Russell Beale). Quickly, it becomes impossible for Leonard to keep his distance from the mob and their operations when Richie bursts into his shop with a bullet wound, followed by Francis (Johnny Flynn), another mobster with a quick temper and an uncompromising arrogance. They have an audio recording sought after by the LaFontaines, a rival gang, and before the night is through, Leonard will need to play his cards right if he is going to live.

The characters, broadly speaking, sound like characters in movies, and don’t really transcend stereotypes. As the film progresses, some carry secrets, and they are not quite who they appear to be (a variation on the theme of appearances, first stated in Leonard’s monologue about how people dress). Revelations abound, but these rarely depart from the obvious, so the film is much more about the ride, with its twists and turns, than much else. The well-paced thriller hums along at such a quick clip that it’s easy to hold reservations until after the credits have rolled. Impressively, the action never leaves Leonard’s shop yet still manages not to feel stagey.

What The Outfit mainly has to offer can be found almost solely in Rylance. His deliberate physicality, his incredible control of his voice, and his ability to convey that he understands much more than he lets on all give the film a gravity that the script does not fully convey. His performance commands the attention and is a reminder of the surprises this film could have contained with a more nuanced cast of characters.