The Outfit (1973)

A Disappointing Continuation

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

A terrific post-heist, hoodlum v mob, revenge flick that resembles in plot 'Point Blank'.As other reviewers have said, the performances are all really fine, the music perfectly understated, and (here I disagree with Ricky Grove - top review as at 17/07/16) each scene is as tight as a drum.From the hit on Macklin's brother early on, to Karen Black's phone call home (notice the truck reflected in the phone booth, the logo on the side of it forming a target on Karen's face - foreshadowing her death a scene or two later), to Joe Don Baker getting a visit from the hit men at his diner (notice the low camera angles - built-in tension right there), to the purchase in the car of hot weaponry, to the negotiations between Roberts Duvall and Ryan at a horse auction with a ball game going on in the background, to the purchase of a getaway car from rednecks (one of the most eventful sequences in cinema - how many stories are told within the space of about five minutes!?).It's fine craftsmanship from director (and writer) John Flynn, who can only be faulted for an extremely disappointing ending. If it had been something like the ending of 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid', that might have worked, but it's a poor 'meh' moment at the end of a brilliant, brilliant film.9/10

I'm not used to seeing Robert Duvall playing lead as bad-ass gangster, but there it is. He (unsurprisingly) does a fine job of molding his character into a tough, mostly upbeat-in-spite-of-bad-circumstances, guy. Mostly, because when he goes slapping his girl around, things get awkward really fast. Back then in the early seventies, it must have been explained away as an action to "settle the chick down" but leading roles wouldn't get away with that nowadays. The 'chick', by the way, is none other than the fantastic Karen Black. The other big supporting role is played terrifically by Joe Don Baker, playing an unusually nice guy (still a gangster, though) compared to what I'm used to.The film is pretty fast-paced and straightforward, with a plot that is built on blind vengeance and acquiring big money fast from a big organization which killed the leading man's brother. There are hardly any big surprises plot-wise, but it stays more than interesting enough, and the finale ís surprisingly happy, almost like a caper. Good enough for me, though.A good 8 out of 10.

As in most of the movie adaptations of Donald Westlake/Richard Stark's Parker novels (POINT BLANK, PAYBACK, PARKER) the central character is after a payoff from the mob or syndicate or outfit. Here, Robert Duvall's Earl Macklin, recently released from prison, figures he's owed compensation for the assassination of his brother and a contract hanging over his own head. His plan is to keep hitting and robbing the organisation, in partnership with his colleague Cody (Joe Don Baker), until they cough up $250.000.THE OUTFIT hails from a period in movie history that was golden for premium quality crime cinema and it's a stone cold, clinically violent and meticulous little beast. Director John Flynn (who later helmed the exploitation classic ROLLING THUNDER) delivers a stylish piece of work, trimmed of frippery and unnecessary clutter. Sharp and no-nonsense, businesslike, but with a solid grip.Both script and performances are pitch-perfect - the cast of character actors (Duvall, Baker, Black, Ryan, Greer, North, Cassidy, Jaeckal) don't miss a beat and keep everything real. This is up there with Peckinpah's THE GETAWAY and Siegel's CHARLEY VARRICK.Duvall is a standout as the principled hard-nut with enough confidence and icy cool to stride into the mob heartland and take what he wants, taking out whoever gets in his way. Joe Don Baker, perhaps one of the most undervalued American movie character actors of his generation, isn't far behind as Cody. And Robert Ryan in one of his last roles gives a masterclass in ruthless contempt as the beleaguered syndicate kingpin Mailer.For an experience of the expert execution of cynical 70's neo noir with grit, pace and exciting verve then this is as good a place as any. Oh, and I'd be surprised if the ending doesn't raise at least the ghost of a satisfied smile to the most jaded viewer.

Compact and minimalist in its execution, all the style here is in the dilapidated decor that permeates the proceedings. It has the look of things fallen and past their prime, inhabited by trapped melancholic Men and Women that also have seen better days. This is a showcase of 1970's grit and the then trend of unfettered realism.There is no aggrandizement or formulated Film stuff here. What you see is exactly what it is and what you get. John Flynn, a very underrated Director is on hand to deliver a pantheon of Noir icons and sensibilities. The Movie is deliciously drab.The bits of Action come fast and furious and there are virtually no set ups. It is a rapid-fire display of excessive restraint, but it all works as inglorious Genre bending to fit the new aesthetic. There is a post-censorship edge in the bursts of violence, but the Dialog is straight out of Film-Noir that was straight out of the Paperbacks and Pulps. This one also belongs in the stable of the Hard-Boiled Richard Stark novels featuring his Parker Character. Only Jim Thompson seems to have a bigger Cult following among the post War Crime Novelists.