If you are looking for a high-octane action thriller, turn back. The Outsider (2018) is a mood piece. It is a film about loneliness, assimilation, and the realization that you can never go home.
The Outsider received widespread critical acclaim, with many praising the show's atmospheric tension, strong performances, and faithful adaptation of Stephen King's novel. The series holds a 74% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The Outsider -2018-
Leto is an actor known for extreme transformations ( Dallas Buyers Club , Morbius ), but his work in is surprisingly restrained. He speaks very little. His character communicates through sullen eyes and sudden bursts of violence. If you are looking for a high-octane action
But The Outsider isn't that movie. And that is precisely what makes it so haunting. The Outsider received widespread critical acclaim, with many
wastes no time establishing its bleak tone. The film opens in 1954, nine years after the end of World War II. Japan is rebuilding, but it is a nation scarred by defeat and occupation. Enter Nick Lowell (Jared Leto), an American former soldier who is serving time in a squalid Osaka prison for a crime we only learn about in fragments.
What is undeniable is the chemistry (or lack thereof) between Leto and the Japanese cast. Tadanobu Asano steals every scene he is in. As Kiyoshi, Asano brings a weary, fatherly sadness to the Yakuza lieutenant, creating a stark contrast to Leto's coiled-spring tension.