In this crime thriller film, FBI agent Terry Husk goes after a white supremacist group called the Order after a string of bank robberies and car heists leaves the communities in the Pacific Northwest frightened. With a runtime of 116 minutes, the film had its world premiere at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on August 31, 2024.
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The Order Movie Cast
Jude Law, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, Jurnee Smollett, Alison Oliver, Marc Maron, Sebastian Pigott, George Tchortov, Matias Garrido, Philip Forest Lewitski, Bradley Stryker, Odessa Young
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The Order Director
Justin Kurzel
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The Order Writer
Zach Baylin
The film is based on the 1989 non-fiction book The Silent Brotherhood: The Chilling Inside Story of America’s Violent, Anti-Government Militia Movement by Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt.
The Order Review
The sense of dread in the air as Jude Law’s Terry makes his way into dreary pub is unmistakable and immediate in The Order. Whether it be the fantastic background score that constantly makes you feel like there’s something bad about to happen or, well, the Confederate flags hanging all over the place, things get very disturbing very soon.
Considering the state of the world, and particularly the United States, The Order is quite the timely release. As tensions rise all over the world, the film does a fantastic job of bringing forth and holding on to the bubbling anxiety brewing just underneath the surface. As people kiss their loved ones and attend birthday parties, you can sense a disturbing sense of dread around every turn as things slowly escalate from bad to worse.
Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult face off against one another in this film and both are, without doubt, excellent. Law plays a stout and no-nonsense FBI agent whose unquenching thirst to see an end to this ordeal brings him in harm’s way. He’s excellent at playing Terry and brings a sense of peace to the madness — you feel like you can trust the man when he’s onscreen. His keen sense of intuition is something that viewers can get behind and Law is fantastic in every scene. Interestingly, I am used to Law’s (rather famous) British charm, but he’s almost unrecognisable as this on-edge, disheavled detective in this scene. It truly speaks to his talent.
But I think Hoult leaves the true mark here. He’s chilling as Bob Mathews, an American neo-nazi terrorist who was apparently burned alive in real life during a shootout with the FBI. It’s hard to look away from Hoult and although he’s great in everything, I think he’s just perfect in this role and brings out a very nuanced terror in his performance. His piercing blue eyes, which is otherwise charming, feels almost menancing here and it proves his mettle as an actor.
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The storyline slowly increases in intensity and terrorist activities as it moves forward. If the Confederate flag wasn’t proof enough, the violence in the film, although not too bloody, really makes you fearful for some reason. As I mentioned previously, it’s the slow but unrelenting background score that sets the scene and promises something aweful around the corner and you wait with bated breath wondering who will the next target of this unfounded hate that is consuming so many youths in America and, frankly all over the world in one way or another.
One might say that The Order is slow-paced — it is just a little bit. But I think it’s tense in every moment and doesn’t feel boring. The slow buildup and the way the film holds on to the tension will take the boredom out of the equation and leave you waiting for the ball to drop. The tense rivalry between Terry and Bob feels like a hammer ready to fall on you and that will keep viewers on edge constantly. I found the film to do an excellent job of telling a terrible and unfortunate story with precision and patience and, in a way, reminded me of a classic thriller film in every way imaginable.
Final Thoughts
The Order is fantastic — it’s really emotional sometimes and the senseless violence is heartbreaking to watch as it is terrifying. Regardless of who is causing it or against whom, terrorism is always senseless and unfortunate. The mix of great performances, a good script and tight pacing make this movie on Prime Video a memorable experience for those who love watching crime thrillers.
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