THE ORDER Is Saved By Its Characters

THE ORDER (Blu-ray)

2024 / 114 min

From Vertical

Review by Princess Pepper😽

It’s possible FBI agent Terry Husk (Jude Law) has been doing his job too long. 26 years of dealing with hate groups and mobsters in New York has him transferring to Coeur d‘Alene, Idaho, presumably to live a quieter life with his family when they follow him there.

That doesn’t happen, though. Shortly after arriving, Husk connects a recent murder and series of robberies to a local hate group known as The Order, an Aryan Nation splinter group led by charismatic extremist Bob Matthews (Nicholas Hoult).

Conversely, Jamie Bowen (Tye Sheridan) is a young police officer who probably hasn’t been at his job long enough. With his knowledge of those involved in local hate groups, his idyllic family life is disrupted as he becomes nearly as obsessed as Husk when the two team up to bring The Order down, even though he has a fraction of the experience.

"Who took the last bearclaw?"

The Order does an excellent job fleshing out its three pivotal characters, subtly shaped and defined through their actions and key scenes. For example, a single silent with moment Husk alone in his new apartment speaks volumes about the reality of his family situation. Similarly, a scene in which Matthews stands up in church to confront reigning Aryan Nation leader Richard Butler (Victor Slezak) not-only signifies a changing of the guard, it establishes Matthews as disturbed and dangerous.

It’s the characters and performances that make The Order worth seeing. Based on a nonfiction book, the choppy narrative often forces the viewer to re-acclimate themselves whenever a significant amount of time has passed between one scene and another. The result is a film that ends up being a little too episodic for its own good, with a few plot threads that are introduced but never explored any further…such as scenes where Matthews has the opportunity to kill Husk but chooses not to. 

The Order features action sequences depicting robberies, murder, terror attacks and shootouts with the FBI, all of which are presented with slick professionalism. Still, the movie is ultimately more interesting - and disturbing - during the character driven moments.