By George & Josh Bate
Historical dramas based on true stories prove to be particularly effective when the story depicted, despite occurring at some time in the past, has specific relevance to the modern audience. Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel, for instance, represents a recent example of such a movie. Despite its setting in 14th century France, Scott’s film struck a chord with contemporary viewers with its #MeToo spin on Kirosawa’s classic Rashomon. Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman, meanwhile, unfolded in 1970s Colorado and yet its (loosely based on a true) story about a Black detective infiltrating a Ku Klux Klan chapter tackled provocative themes of racism and identity with an attention to such issues in the contemporary era. The Order, a new film about an American white supremacist group in the 1980s, follows suit as a historical drama with disturbing modern day relevance.
Coming from director Justin Kurzel (Macbeth, Assassin’s Creed), The Order is based on a true story and on the 1989 book The Silent Brotherhood by Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt. The crime thriller follows FBI agent Terry Husk (played by Jude Law) as he investigates a series of bank robberies and car heists that he comes to suspect are the work of a group of domestic, white supremacist terrorists. Leading this group known by some as The Order and opposing Law’s Husk character is Bob Matthews (played by Nicholas Hoult), a real-life person that influences modern day iterations of domestic terrorists to this day. Assisting Husk is local police officer Jamie Bowen (played by Tye Sheridan) and fellow FBI agent Joanna Carney (played by Alison Oliver), who together set out to stop The Order from executing a large-scale attack.
Films are a product of their time, and The Order is certainly that. It unfortunately comes with no surprise that a film about a white supremacist group in the 1980s has such strong relevance to the modern day. Emphasizing this most strikingly than anything perhaps is the fact that the manifesto put forth by Hoult’s character Bob Matthews in real-life has been used by similar groups ever since, and aided those participating in the insurrection on the U.S. capitol on January 6, 2021. As a result of such parallels, The Order proves to be as entertaining as it is informative.
Even though the film is based on true events, The Order doesn’t exactly possess a unique narrative. The idea of a down-on-his-luck, addiction-troubled law enforcement officer fighting against the system and investigating criminals has largely been seen before. And, without the sort of spectacle and liberties taken by Spike Lee with BlacKkKlansman, The Order may seem a tad dry in comparison. The film hits on almost every trope of an FBI investigation movie during its nearly two-hour runtime, although a strong script from Zach Baylin and a directing style that captures intensity and suspense so well helps the film distinguish itself. Indeed, it takes some time for the largely conventional movie to settle into its plot and focus more centrally on the white supremacists, but, when it does, things certainly intensify.
Jude Law leads an impressive ensemble cast with an against-type performance. Law often plays polished and articulate, but, in The Order, he plays rugged and hardened to great effect. It is not a particularly showy performance, instead an opportunity for Law to flex his acting muscles with a different kind of performance than what audiences are used to seeing from him.
On the other side of Law’s FBI agent is Nicholas Hoult’s Bob Matthews. The Order intends to strike fear into its audience through highlighting true events, and a real life man in the form of Bob Matthews. Hoult’s performance as the antagonist doesn’t get in the way of that intention from the filmmakers, although the English actor isn’t always particularly convincing in the role. He’s far from giving a poor turn as Matthews, but one can’t help but feel as if the real leader of this group was far more menacing and threatening than what Hoult portrays him as. That being said, the sheer idea of a group flying Nazi flags and causing mayhem across the U.S. is terrifying enough on its own, so Hoult’s more subtle performance could be a method to counteract that intensity.
An interesting parallel exists between Law’s Husk and Hoult’s Matthews regarding the characters’ family lives. Husk is introduced to the audience as a man moving to a different part of the country, keeping his fingers crossed that his wife and children follow him and overcome the issues his wife has with him. Matthews, meanwhile, has a family of his own and another family on the way as he has impregnated another woman in an extramarital affair. Both characters are flawed family men, willing to throw away the bliss of married life with children in favor of a cause they are committed to. For Husk, this cause is hunting down the armed brotherhood, while, for Matthews, this cause is to grow the group and lead a racism-fueled revolution in the United States.
The Order unfolds as a back-and-forth between Husk and Matthew’s respective groups, much like other FBI investigation movies. Amidst this back-and-forth, director Kurzel demonstrates a firm handle on action in crafting a number of intense heist scenes that shows the director of The Snowtown Murders and Macbeth has not lost his penchant for gritty, grounded on-screen violence. None of this is particularly novel, although there is commendable filmmaking on display.
As the film concludes, the parallels between the events of the film and what is happening in modern America are more glaring than ever. And it is through this parallel that The Order rises above its rather conventional narrative to resonate on a more disturbing emotional level. One can’t help but watch The Order and see how little has changed and, in this sense, Kurzel manages to infuse his crime drama with a palpable sense of dread.
VERDICT: 7/10
The Order treads familiar territory with a mostly conventional crime drama narrative, although its disturbing relevance to modern day America makes the film more emotionally resonant. Jude Law refreshingly plays against type as a rugged FBI agent, while Nicholas Hoult somewhat underwhelms with a more subdued performance that doesn’t quite capture the menace of a real-life white supremacist. Director Justin Kurzel crafts a number of intense and gritty action sequences in a more grounded film than the narratively similar BlacKkKlansman. Lacking a certain spectacle and edge of uniqueness, Kurzel’s latest effort is, at times, rather dry, although it ultimately excels as a harrowing depiction of American history and modern America. Coupled with a strong lead performance and intense action, The Order makes for a film as gripping as it is informative.
