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The Order (R)

Cast: Jude Law, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, Alison Oliver

Release Date: December 6, 2024

Runtime: 1 hr. 56 mins.

Genre: Thriller, Detective

Based on a true story, a series of bank robberies and armored car heists frightened communities in the Pacific Northwest. A lone FBI agent believes that the crimes were not the work of financially motivated criminals, but rather a group of dangerous domestic terrorists.

Review

The Order, from director Justin Kurzel, turns back the clock to 1983 to explore a movement whose ideals and methods have striking relevance in today's fraught political climate. The Order was a Neo-Nazi terrorist organization that splintered away from the less openly violent Aryan Nations under the guidance of founder Bob Mathews (Nicholas Hoult). The movie, like the non-fiction book "The Silent Brotherhood" upon which it is based, follows The Order from its conception in September 1983 to its demise 15 months later. With its obvious allegorical implications, The Order emphasizes that the twin dangers of extremism and domestic terrorism are not new and the passage of time has not caused them to fade away.

The story focuses on an investigation by FBI agent Terry Husk (Jude Law), a grizzled veteran of similar campaigns, and a local cop, Jamie Bowen (Tye Sheridan), into the activities of Mathews and The Order. Husk recognizes at the outset that the bank and armored car robberies being committed by The Order are netting enough money to fund a small army and he begins to suspect that the group is preparing for a guerilla war against the United States. As the situation becomes more serious, Husk receives support from colleague Joanne Carney (Jurnee Smollett) as the FBI sees the situation as more than just an incident of a fringe group spouting racist rhetoric.

Although the parts of the movie related to Mathews stick close to the historical record, the FBI/police elements are fictionalized, with "composite" characters whose backgrounds and relationships are crafted to provide the movie with a more emotionally complex tapestry. Husk is a perfect example; he's as developed as any of the historically-based individuals populating the screenplay but his story is entirely made-up. In many ways, he is a tragic figure - successful at his job but not at the business of living. He leaves behind a trail of broken dreams but he (usually) gets his man.

The Order is paced as a thriller and it contains sufficient suspense to make it work as such. It is arguably more interesting, however, because of the relevance of the subtext to today's political climate. The forces that led to The Order's genesis in 1983 have not diminished since then. There's no reason to believe that this sort of thing couldn't happen again. And that recognition gives the movie an extra kick that a standard-order "FBI investigation" movie might not have.

The Order provides strong, lived-in performances from Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult. Husk, a soul-weary veteran whose conscience has a few holes in it, is not necessarily the more interesting of the two, although Law gives one of his better recent performances here. But Hoult, playing a true believer of a racist ideology, is as riveting and he is frightening. Mathews, as brought to the screen by the suddenly ubiquitous actor, mingles magnetism with intensity. The screenplay paints Mathews as rather one-dimensional but Hoult attempts to round him into more of a character through the force of his portrayal.

The screenplay isn't airtight. Zach Baylin's adaptation, mindful of the limitations of a sub-two hour running time, avoids going down too many rabbit holes. This leads to some unresolved story elements, most revolving around Mathews' domestic life and his relationship with Richard Butler (Victor Slezak), a powerful figure within (and the founder of) the Aryan Nations. Scenes between the two, including one in which a confederate of Mathews, functioning as a sniper, trains a rifle on Butler, hint at a deepening rift, but the plot thread is quickly dropped. Hiccups like this hint at what at one time may have been a longer and more complex movie. The end result, however, whether pruned during the scripting stage or in the editing room, is a taut and compelling piece of cinema whose release in the wake of the 2024 election may have some viewers pondering Winston Churchill's 1948 warning: "Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

© 2024 James Berardinelli

Synopsis

Based on a true story, a series of bank robberies and armored car heists frightened communities in the Pacific Northwest. A lone FBI agent believes that the crimes were not the work of financially motivated criminals, but rather a group of dangerous domestic terrorists.