Jared Leto
Nick Lowell
Overview
A former American G.I. joins a yakuza family after his release from prison in post-World War II Osaka.
Cast
12 people
Reviews
4 min readThe Outsider: A Stranger in a Strange Land
I’ve seen this story before—the American who stumbles into a foreign underworld, seduced by its codes, its violence, its strange allure. It’s a well-worn path, trodden by everyone from Brando in The Wild One to De Niro in The Mission. But The Outsider isn’t interested in reinventing the wheel.
What it does, instead, is slow down. It lingers in the spaces between the familiar beats, asking what it means to belong when you’re not just an outsider to a culture, but to yourself.
Martin Zandvliet’s film follows Nick Lowell (Jared Leto), a former G.I. who, after serving time in a Japanese prison for black-market dealings, finds himself adrift in post-WWII Osaka. With nowhere to go and no one to turn to, he’s taken in by a yakuza family, where he learns the language of loyalty, honor, and bloodshed. The premise is simple, almost archetypal, but the execution is where things get interesting.
This isn’t a film about the thrill of the underworld; it’s about the quiet, creeping dread of realizing you’ve built a life on borrowed time.
The first thing that strikes you about The Outsider is its visual texture. Zandvliet and cinematographer Camilla Hjelm don’t just shoot Osaka—they drown in it. The city is a character here, a labyrinth of wet streets, flickering lanterns, and cramped alleys where the air hums with the tension of a society still reeling from war.
The camera lingers on details: the way rain slicks the pavement, the steam rising from a bowl of ramen, the careful precision of a yakuza’s tattoo being inked into his skin. There’s a tactile quality to the filmmaking, a sense that you could reach out and touch the damp fabric of Nick’s shirt or the rough wood of the bar where he drinks away his nights. It’s not just atmosphere; it’s a way of signaling that Nick is always on the outside, even when he’s surrounded by people.
Audience Opinions
Limited evidence
Audience 6.2/10
"A visually striking but uneven yakuza drama with a standout performance from Jared Leto, though it struggles with pacing and authenticity."
Viewers appreciate the film’s stylish cinematography and Jared Leto’s committed performance as an American navigating the Japanese yakuza underworld. However, many find the story meandering and the portrayal of yakuza culture inauthentic, detracting from the overall impact. latestnetflix.com's take is that the supporting cast’s depth and the film’s pacing are frequent points of criticism.
What viewers praise
- Jared Leto’s performance Leto’s portrayal of an outsider in the yakuza world is widely praised for its intensity and commitment.
- Visually striking The film’s cinematography and aesthetic choices are noted for their stylish and immersive quality.
- Unique premise The concept of an American infiltrating the yakuza is seen as fresh and intriguing by some viewers.
Common complaints
- Inauthentic yakuza portrayal Many viewers criticize the film for its lack of authenticity in depicting yakuza culture and traditions.
- Slow pacing The story’s pacing is frequently described as sluggish, making it hard to stay engaged.
- Underdeveloped supporting cast The supporting characters, including key yakuza figures, are seen as thinly written and lacking depth.
- Predictable plot The storyline is criticized for relying on familiar tropes and lacking surprises.
Recommended for
Fans of crime dramas Jared Leto enthusiasts Lovers of stylish cinematography Those interested in yakuza stories
Full Plot (Spoilers)
Spoiler warning
This section contains the full plot, including major story reveals. Overview above stays spoiler-free.
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsMiike and Hardy walked. Netflix still made the white yakuza picture.
Andrew Baldwin's spec sat on the 2011 Black List. The idea belonged to John Linson. For a stretch it was Michael Fassbender with Daniel Espinosa. Then it was Tom Hardy with Takashi Miike and a Japan start date in early 2014. In January of that year The Playlist reported Hardy left in pre-production. Miike followed on the calendar. That version of The Outsider never existed. The one that does stars Jared Leto as Nick Lowell, a Marine who spends a decade in an Osaka prison, saves Tadanobu Asano's Kiyoshi, and climbs the Shiromatsu clan until he is running it. Martin Zandvliet, the Dane who made Land of Mine, took the chair. Camilla Hjelm Knudsen shot it. latestnetflix.com's take is that Principal photography started in Tokyo in late September 2016 and wrapped in Osaka that December.Leto had been announced April 5. Netflix grabbed exclusive global rights that November. The movie landed March 9, 2018. Two hours. English and Japanese. This is not the HBO Stephen King series. 
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNNcl2mEHzQ
The trailer did the damage first. February 22, 2018, Netflix posted the official clip. Leto, held at gunpoint, talks about fighting the current and flowing with the river. Two days later NME collected the pile-on. Sociologist Nancy Wang Yuen drew a line between literal whitewashing, Doctor Strange and Ghost in the Shell, and figurative whitewashing, a story set in Asia that centers a white star. "Seriously, how hard is it to hire an Asian-American actor for this type of shit?" one user wrote. Neither Leto nor Netflix answered. Collider had already flagged the typewriter beating in the trailer, Leto using an office machine on Rory Cochrane's racist scrap dealer. That is the scene people still remember. , ,
What arrived is that scene and not much else. Rotten Tomatoes sat at 17 percent on 24 reviews. Metacritic, 30. Variety's Andrew Barker called it "the cinematic equivalent of a study-abroad student showing off the kanji forearm tattoo whose meaning he never bothered to learn." The Guardian compared it to The Last Samurai, a white man rising to lead a foreign people. Wikipedia has Nick and Kiyoshi cutting off their own fingertips to apologize to a rival clan. Thrillist noted Hardy and Miike's 2014 exit now reads like a savvy move. The interesting movie is the one that never got made. Netflix shipped the tourist cut. The official trailer is still up if you want to watch Leto flow with the river. , , , ,
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.