The Order

We’ve seen many true crime stories be told in the past several decades. However, few feel as timely and urgent as the latest from Australian filmmaker Justin Kurzel. Despite a glaring flop in his 2016 video game adaptation, Assassin’s Creed, Kurzel has steadily built himself a solid roster of gritty crime films. His newest film sets its sights on the real-life battle between the FBI and a white supremacist militia organizing to take up arms and declare war on America. A top-tier police procedural, Kurzel’s latest film is a grim story, one that doesn’t let up even when the small victories are achieved. More so when the closing text credits reveal the links from this film to the January 6th insurrection.

Courtesy Vertical Entertainment

In the year 1983, FBI agent Terry Husk (Jude Law) has relocated to the Pacific Northwest for a quiet change of pace after several decades working undercover. Terry comes across a string of bank robberies around the area, resulting in one death. Enlisting the help of local Deputy Jamie Bowen (Tye Sheridan) to assist with the investigation, Terry discovers the robberies are linked to a nearby white nationalist militia group run by Bob Matthews (Nicholas Hoult). This group, known as “The Order”, was so too extreme even for the Nazi church group they initially broke away from. Having recently released a bomb in a Synagogue, The Order has more ambitious acts of terror planned, with more bombs being secretly built in hopes of overthrowing the government. Husk, seeing the scale of what is at stake, gathers the help of his friend FBI Agent Joanne Carney (Jurnee Smollett). As the investigation heats up, a dangerous cat-and-mouse game ensues between Husk and Bob Matthews and sets them on a dangerous collision course.

Director Justin Kurzel once again showcases his strengths at crafting a taut, suspenseful atmosphere that feels like the air is slowly being sucked out of the room. Kurzel, director of gritty crime films such as True History of the Kelly Gang, Nitram, Snowtown and his visually spectacular retelling of Macbeth, excels in breathing a sense of bleak, unrelenting darkness to the tone. We’ve seen this type of film countless times over the years, but Kurzel’s firm sense of realism and doom-and-gloom dramatic stakes set this film apart. There’s a bluntness to his depiction of violence that feels more visceral due to Kurzel’s disciplined camera. The filmmaker forces the audience to wallow in the uncomfortable nuances of white supremacy, both having to follow these characters in their personal lives, and in the heinous, violent acts of bigotry they commit. Kurzel paces and structures the film akin to 70’s crime thrillers while still managing to feel as timeless. He’s able to build tightly-wound tension through subtle gestures in confrontations and small camera movements. Aspects of the film have a gritty, cop-and-robbers action flair, with shootouts and chase sequences that are as gripping as anything in the film, but there’s a lingering dread that punctuates the material.

Courtesy Vertical Entertainment

Penned by King Richard and Creed 3 screenwriter Zach Baylin, The Order is a thoroughly grim story, but has humanity and depth in its characters. Hoult’s performance as the white supremacist, Bob Matthews, is subtly chilling. Hoult’s character isn’t some egomaniacal, moustache-twirling villain. He’s shown to be a caring family man, despite having both a wife and a pregnant mistress, while stepping outside of his home and planning pure evil. Baylin’s script showcases the different layers of white supremacy, both in a political landscape and in on-the-ground domestic acts of terror. It’s a reflection of a side of evil that hits close to home despite the film taking place 40 years ago. The infamous “The Turner Diaries” book is shown heavily as a recruiting tool for The Order and was of course used as recently as the January 6th insurrection.

Jude Law does some of his best work in many years in a role that is catnip for any character actor. The grizzled, world-weary Terry Husk will do whatever it takes to see justice is met, but that comes with great sacrifice. Terry is separated from his family and woefully hopes that doing good work in his recently relocated state of Idaho will somehow bring them back to him. It becomes clear that this goal continually eats away at him, forcing him to set aside his personal struggles with alcoholism and depression and commit himself entirely to this investigation. Law’s Terry Husk is a raw nerve, which Law portrays with rich pathos. Jurnee Smollett is coming into her own as a strong screen presence in genre work. She and Law have a specific rapport with one another that feels genuine as they both try to come to terms with the existential possibilities of the investigation.

Courtesy Vertical Entertainment

The Order is a gripping and well-told crime thriller from director Justin Kurzel. Fronted by powerful performances from stars Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult, this is a grim, brooding film that does follow your typical cop procedural clichés, but is backed by a strong script and muscular direction. Kurzel’s film feels incredibly urgent, both in its personal stakes and what it means for our current, dooming political climate. 

The Order is now playing in theaters.