14 February,2025 01:25 PM IST | Mumbai | Johnson Thomas
The Order
Director Justin Kurzel's brisk investigative thriller, a real-life crime drama, "The Order," has Jude Law in the lead. As FBI Agent Terry Husk, he is bent, wears a beard that's growing scruffily and gnashes gum. He is typically lonely, estranged from his family and is full of regrets.
He arrives in the quaint town of Coeur D'Alene, Idaho to investigate a disappearance. Husk is searching for clues to connect this disappearance with a rash of bank robberies and some planted explosive devices that have created havoc in the town. Jamie Bowen (Tye Sheridan), points Husk in the direction of the Aryan Nation compound just a few miles outside of town.
The gang, similar to contemporary white supremacists, with young men like Bob Matthews (Nicholas Hoult) want to enact a new world order that'll be taken by force.
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The film begins in 1983 with Kurzel and editor Nick Fenton taking viewers directly into the scene of the crime. Two friends lead another compatriot to his execution at a remote spot in the woods. These two men later join Matthews and another man in the hold-up of a bank.
DP Adam Arkapaw's cinematography is gorgeous lending the forlorn landscape a rare beauty. In "The Order," unprincipled outlaws, bigotry and desire to overthrow the government takes primary importance. Law's Husk is a brooding presence but he has very little screen time. Mostly, Mathews is the one pivotal to this telling. Kurzel carefully observes the execution of his plan. This is not much of a psychological portrait. Hoult portrays Matthews as a leader who remains relatable to his flock.
Mathews is portrayed true to historical record, but the FBI/police elements are fictionalized. Fictional backgrounds and relationships provide the movie with a more emotionally complex fabric.
It's a game of cat and mouse further exemplified by the film's characters and their inner demons. Production design and art direction are exemplary. "The Order" isn't exploitative. The film is slow to unravel and the mood, tone and pacing allow for greater depth and interest. In the end you feel some of the harrowing ordeal that Husk and team get subjected to. It's quite heartbreaking.
