Movie Review: ‘The Order’

Opening in theaters on December 6th, ‘The Order’ finds Jude Law starring in the based-on-truth story of a committed, troubled FBI agent who digs into reports of a white supremacist group changing their tactics and led by charismatic individual.

We’re not short of stories that have their roots in real life, this one shapes up to be particularly intriguing, partly because, despite its 1980s setting, it has resonance in today’s particularly divided political world.

Related Article: Jude Law Talks ‘Skeleton Crew’ and Joining the ‘Star Wars’ Universe

Will ‘The Order’ Command You to Watch it?

Nicholas Hoult in ‘The Order’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.

Australian director Justin Kerzel has made it something of a specialty bringing based-on-truth movies to screens, though often with a twist. Here, he lets the persuasive, tough real-life story do most of the heavy lifting, casting well and letting all the main players be layered rather than stereotypical examples of, say, white supremacists or FBI agents.

Yes, there are some expected moments, but for the most part, Kurzel and his creative team keep you engaged with a screenplay that crackles with energy and tension, driven by some stellar acting.

Script and Direction

(L to R) Director Justin Kurzel and Jude Law on the set of ‘The Order’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.

The script for ‘The Order’ comes from Zach Baylin (who has had mixed fortunes of late –– solid success with ‘King Richard,’ but he also contributed to recent huge flop ‘The Crow’), here adapting Kevin Flynn’s book ‘The Silent Brotherhood.’

He finds the right notes to hit following a dogged investigator drawn into something truly malicious in a small town, crafting characters based on the real people who feel like lived-in humans with their foibles intact.

Jude Law in ‘The Order’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.

Kurzel brings that script to life with style and panache, but no little sense of the gritty life some of these people lead, but also relishing the beautiful Pacific Northwest backdrops against which some terrible acts take place. As the plot begins to deepen and twist, he keeps it all on track, getting fine work out of his cast and making sure to stay grounded.

If there’s a criticism to be found it is that, like some other recent movies, it occasionally feels flabby, but once the characters are back to figuring each other out, the interest level soon picks back up.

Performances

Jude Law as Terry Husk

Jude Law in ‘The Order’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.

Husk is well-named, since when we meet him, he’s on the verge of being a husk of a man; burned out by the job and with his family hanging on by a thread. Yet he’s also devoted and passionate about tracking down the violent criminals at the heart of the film and Law finds the right take-no-BS attitude to bring him to life.

This is far from a noble knight in shining armor, more a dedicated public servant frustrated by those around him and not afraid to let that show in encounters with cops and fellow agents.

Nicholas Hoult as Bob Matthews

Nicholas Hoult in ‘The Order’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.

Hoult’s fresh-faced charisma works well for Matthews, the devious yet charming white supremacist who inspires others to terrible deeds while also carrying out some of his own.

You won’t sympathize with the man’s ideals, but you will understand while people would be willing to follow him, and Hoult is great at both his violent extremes and the quieter moments he shares with family (and, er lover, who is expecting his child.)

Tye Sheridan as Jamie Bowen

Tye Sheridan in ‘The Order’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.

The local deputy who has his own reasons for A) loathing the white supremacists who have invaded his town and B) frustrations at the lack of progress in dealing with them before Husk shows up is a great counterpoint to both the FBI agent and Matthews.

Sheridan pitches him well as both eager but also wary.

Supporting Cast

Jurnee Smollett in ‘The Order’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.

Jurnee Smollett certainly gets her share of standout moments as Joanne Carney, the FBI agent who takes over leading the case and clashes with Husk’s more forceful approach as hers tends to favor a by-the-book approach.

Likewise Alison Oliver and Odessa Young, who play Matthews’ wife and lover respectively; both have believable chemistry with Hoult and are convincing in their roles. Veteran character Victor Slezak, meanwhile, makes the most of a smaller role as hate-spewing (but less violent-leaning than Matthews church leader Richard Butler, who becomes key to the case on both sides.

Final Thoughts

(L to R) Jude Law and Jurnee Smollett in ‘The Order’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.

It might not be quite up there with Kurzel’s best true-crime offerings, but ‘The Order’ certainly has a lot to recommend it if you’re a fan of tenacious law enforcement officers trying to take down a threat that impacts locally but promises to affect the country as a whole.

And given the state of the nation, culture and politics in particular, it has a lot to say about how hatred curdles into violence and what we all need to be more careful of spotting in our own communities.

‘The Order’ receives 7.5 out of 10 stars.

“Based on the chilling true story.”

Showtimes & Tickets

An alarming surge in violent bombings and bank robberies in the Pacific Northwest leads a weathered FBI agent into a deadly cat-and-mouse game with a charismatic… Read the Plot

What’s the plot of ‘The Order’?

In 1983, a series of increasingly violent bank robberies, counterfeiting operations and armored car heists frightened communities throughout the Pacific Northwest.

As baffled law enforcement agents scrambled for answers, a lone FBI agent (Jude Law), stationed in the sleepy, picturesque town of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, came to believe the crimes were not the work of traditional, financially motivated criminals but a group of dangerous domestic terrorists, inspired by a radical, charismatic leader (Nicholas Hoult), plotting a devastating war against the federal government of the United States.

Who stars in ‘The Order?

(L to R) Jude Law, Jurnee Smollett and Tye Sheridan in ‘The Order’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.

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